Abandoned
by EmMarie96
Summary: Percy Jackson seems like your typical high school bad boy, but he has a secret. A big one. His perfect best friend Jason does his best to help, and so does a new friend Annabeth. But will he let her in? And will their relationship prevail with Rachel, who seems to know everything before it happens, and Luke, who still hasn't gotten over his break up with Annabeth? T for abuse
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE:**

Officer Poseidon Neptune had just gotten home from a long day of work. Today's case had involved another innocent teenager, and he was wondering if his job was worth it. He sighed as he sat in his reclining chair with a newspaper on his lap. The kid had once again cried for help too late, and there had been nothing to do but charge the parents and send them to jail for up to five years, then they got to move on with their lives.

But he never could.

After 15 years of being a cop, he had seen things he could never forget. Things that kept him up at night, wondering what he could have done differently, and wondering if things would have turned out better if he had. The thoughts plagued him, especially after days like today, and tonight, Poseidon was tired of always being the hero that shows up just too late.

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Poseidon was driving on his morning route the next Monday at 8:00 when he saw a school-aged boy leaning on the corner of a building, smoking.

He pulled up in front of him and got out of his patrol car, expecting the kid to run away, but he just hiked his jacket up around his face and stomped his cigarette out on the ground.

"Hey, kid," Poseidon started, trying to get a good look at him. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"It's a holiday," the kid responded flatly. Poseidon guessed by his height and appearance that he was around 17.

"I wish," Poseidon replied, "but I don't have the day off. Now really, shouldn't you be in school?"

"I'm home-schooled," he said blankly, shuffling his feet and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Nice try, kid."

The teen gave an annoyed huff, which made a puff of fog appear in the chilly October air.

"Where are your parents, then?" Poseidon tried.

The teen still wouldn't look him in the eyes, and he sighed. "What's your name, kid?" he asked, not unkindly.

The kid looked him up and down mistrustfully and mumbled to the ground.

"What was that?"

"Percy," he muttered, slightly louder.

"How 'bout your last name?"

"You don't need to know."

"Okay, be like that," Poseidon told him. "I'm gonna let you off with a warning today, alright? Just get to school."

The teen halfheartedly nodded and started walking down the street.

"Hey!"

Percy stopped.

"You go to Goode High School?" Poseidon called.

Percy nodded jerkily, and Poseidon raised his eyebrows.

"Well, it's that way." he said pointing in the opposite direction Percy had been walking. "On second thought, let me just give you a lift down there."

"Do I have to ride in the back?"

Poseidon smiled. "Nah, you can sit shotgun."

Percy sauntered over to the police car and slid into the passenger seat, where he immediately turned his head to stare out the window.

Poseidon got in, and started heading for the high school.

"So, what grade are you in?" he asked, trying to keep a conversation.

"_What. Do. You. Even. Care_."

Poseidon still couldn't see his face, but he imagined the teen was rolling his eyes.

"Well, I was just curious. Didn't your parents ever teach you that cops were your friends?"

The teen gave a derisive laugh. "My parents didn't teach me anything."

"I thought you were home-schooled."

Percy became silent again.

"Well, my name is Poseidon Neptune," he said, and Percy snorted. Poseidon was used to people making fun of his name, so he ignored it. Most people just didn't have the same sense of humor as his parents had. "I just wanna make sure all you kids are going to school. Why did you ditch today?"

Percy sighed and turned to face him. "Wouldn't you ditch too if you looked like this?"

Now that he had lifted up his head, Percy could see his face clearly. He was a good-looking guy, with tousled dark brown hair and bright green eyes, but he had an atrocious looking black eye, which extended down his right cheek.

"That looks pretty bad, Percy," he remarked. "What'd you do, get in a fight?"

Percy hesitated. "I walked into a pole."

"Mmhm," Poseidon said, not believing the lie for a minute. "Maybe I better take you home, your parents can call you in sick."

"No no!" Percy said quickly, "I'll be fine. Just take me to the stupid school."

"If you're sure."

"Definitely."

Poseidon sighed and kept driving. When they reached the high school, he pulled up to the doors and Percy hopped out.

"Uh, thanks Mr. Neptune," he said.

"No problem kid," Poseidon smiled. "Just stay out of trouble."

"I'll try," he said halfheartedly, and he headed into the building. Poseidon only drove away after he saw that he was safely inside.

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Poseidon was out on his second patrol that day, this time on foot. He was strolling down main street, when he heard a commotion. He ran towards the source of the noise, and saw a group of boys fighting in an alley.

"Hey!" he blew his whistle. "Break it up!"

They ignored him, and he ran over to stop the fight. Most of the punches seemed to be aimed at one boy, so Poseidon got in the middle of the group and shoved them all away from each other.

"Get on home, scram!" he ordered, and the teens all glared at him and obeyed. Then he noticed the kid that had been taking most of the punches trying to slink away unnoticed.

"Percy?"

The kid froze. Poseidon shook his head disapprovingly and walked up to him.

"Didn't I tell you to stay out of trouble?"

Percy sighed loudly and tried to walk away, but Poseidon grabbed his arm.

"Ouch!" Percy shouted, disproportionately loud to how hard Poseidon had grabbed him. He twisted out of his grasp and clutched his arm, then glared.

"Sorry," Poseidon said, confused. "What was all that about? Why were you fighting?"

"I wasn't fighting!" Percy protested, still clutching his arm. "They were all fighting me!"

"Why, Percy?"

"Well, they think they're all that," Percy began, "and at school they're always harassing the nerds. I stopped them from being jerks to these kids today, and after school they followed me home and started the fight."

"What were they doing that made you feel like you had to step in?"

Percy kicked a pebble. "Well, it's just not right when they're slapping around a bunch of girls," he said quietly.

Poseidon raised his eyebrows.

_Huh,_ he thought. _So this kid actually has a conscience._

"Well, good job kid," he said out loud. "Do you need me to get you something for that?" he asked, indicating the teen's bloody nose.

Percy wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve. "Nah, I'll be alright." Then he took a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket and lit one up.

"Could you not?" Poseidon asked him.

Percy raised an eyebrow at him challengingly. "Why?"

"I have asthma."

Percy exhaled the smoke with a skeptical look on his face.

"Just kidding. But it's really not good for you."

The teen looked at his cigarette for a minute then put it out on the side of the building.

Poseidon held out his hand.

"Let's have 'em."

With a sigh, Percy took the cigarette pack out of his pocket and slapped in into the cop's palm.

"Thanks," Poseidon said, and Percy halfheartedly rolled his eyes.

"So, can I leave?"

"Go for it."

The teen turned and walked away, but Poseidon called, "I mean it this time! Stay out of trouble!"

Percy raised his hand and saluted with two fingers without turning around.

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**A/N**

**Okay, the story behind this fic: I started writing it nearly a year ago, but didn't intend for it to be a PJatO fic. I had original characters, but I decided to change the names so I could post it on here:) I didn't see any typos, but just in case:**

**Andrew = Poseidon**

**Logan = Percy**

**Thanks for reading!:) Please leave a short review, I'd like to know what people think! I'm not sure if I'll post the rest or not...:/ So, if you'd like to read the rest, review!:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Percy's POV**

When he got home, Percy retrieved the mail and walked into the kitchen, immediately noticing that the temperature inside wasn't much different than the outside. He shivered, and glanced through the envelopes in his hand. He opened one from the heating company, and saw that their bill was overdue.

He tossed the bill onto the table, then glanced around the small house, making sure everything was tidy before heading for his bedroom. He shrugged off his dirty jacket and tossed it into his hamper, taking a moment to examine the bruise on his upper arm. Then he went into the bathroom to clean himself up.

Looking in the mirror, he saw his blood-covered face and grimaced. He took a washcloth and dampened it, then wiped off most of the blood. Then he splashed warm water on his face and dried himself off, then headed into the kitchen to start making dinner.

He glanced at the clock and saw that it was 4:30. Knowing that his stepfather would be home soon, he hurriedly chopped up vegetables and chicken and tossed them into a pot to make soup.

While he was stirring the pot, he heard the front door slam open. His stepfather stormed into the kitchen.

"Hey!" he said, walking over and smacking the back of Percy's head. "Why isn't my house clean?"

Gabe Ugliano was an intimidating-looking man, 6"5, with hard muscles from his construction job, and short dark hair and dark eyes.

Percy smoothed down his hair and said, "I cleaned it this morning, what's wrong?"

"Don't you back-talk me!" his stepfather warned, "Just clean it better. And do you always have to make soup? We had that yesterday!"

"No, it was last weekend." Percy said calmly, "And It's cold outside, I just thought-"

"There's where you went wrong!" his stepfather scoffed, smacking his head again, "You're too dumb to know when to make soup."

Percy silently stared into the pot and refrained from rolling his eyes at that ridiculous statement.

"I got a call from school today saying you were late." he said, annoyed. "They thought it had something to do with your shiner. I hope you haven't been spreading lies about that," Gabe said menacingly. "Because you know what happens if you do."

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Gabe said approvingly, siting down at the table. "Now go get me a cigarette."

Percy quickly ducked out of the kitchen to grab one out of his stepfather's room. He returned and handed it over. Gabe lit it and inhaled, then blew the smoke into Percy's face.

"Why is it so damn cold in here, boy?" he demanded.

Percy coughed the smoke away, then pushed the heating bill across the table towards him nervously.

"What the hell is this?" Gabe roared incredulously.

"Um, the heating bill. I guess you forgot to pay it last month, so they shut off the heat-"

"Don't try to blame this on me!" Gabe shouted.

Percy ducked before he could slap him, and sighed. "If you want, I could get another job."

"_Hell_ yes!" his stepfather answered, "What, you thought just working in the summer is enough to pull your own weight around here? No way! You need to start contributing more if you want to live here!"

"That's the last thing I want..." Percy mumbled under his breath.

"What'd I say about back-talking?"

Percy clamped his mouth shut.

"That's what I thought," his stepfather nodded, then rose. "I'm going out for a drink. Cough it up, kid," he said, holding out his hand.

Percy sighed again, then took out $10 from his back pocket.

"Are you kidding me?" Gabe asked. "That's it?"

"Sorry," Percy said, shrugging. "I had to get a new calculator for geometry."

"Well don't let it happen again!" his stepfather grumbled, and again Percy had to refrain from rolling his eyes. "Be back later."

He stomped out the door, ignoring the pot of boiling soup on the stove.

"See you," Percy said quietly.

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**Poseidon's POV**

It was several days later before Poseidon saw the kid again. It had snowed the night before but there had been no school closings, so when Poseidon spotted Percy trudging through a snow drift early that Wednesday morning, he pulled up beside him.

"Percy!"

The teen was shivering, as he had only a light jacket on, and he looked up.

"I hope you're going to school, cuz that's where I'm going to give you a lift to. Hop in."

Percy gratefully slid into the passenger seat and started rubbing his hands together to warm them.

"Thanks," he said through chattering teeth.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't they have a school bus you can catch?"

"I missed it."

"You could catch a cold walking to school, it's 20 degrees out there! Set your alarm clock a little earlier next time," Poseidon suggested.

Percy gave a twisted smile to the ground.

"I'll do that."

"Hey," Poseidon said, looking at the teen's face. "Did you get into another fight? Your shiner changed sides."

Percy flipped his hair out of his face and said, annoyed, "No, I haven't been fighting. I told you, that's not my thing."

"So what, you walked into the pole again?"

"Sure."

Again, Poseidon decided not to push it. Percy started coughing, and Poseidon looked at him, concerned.

"You feeling okay, kid?"

Percy coughed a few more times then cleared his throat. "I'm fine, it's just the weather."

"I'm sure all that smoking helped too."

"Whatever."

Poseidon sighed as they pulled up to the high school.

"Just make sure to wear that jacket if you go outside today, alright?"

"Got it," Percy said, getting out. "Thanks again."

He slammed the door closed. _Wear your jacket? _Poseidon thought, shaking his head. _I'm turning into my mother... _

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**Percy's POV**

Percy slunk into the classroom, ready with a bad attitude and a poor excuse for being late.

"I got distracted chasing an armadillo through the woods, sir," he said to his teacher, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm. The rest of the class snickered, but the teacher didn't seem to catch on.

"How fascinating. Next time make sure to photograph it so you can share it with the class. Now take your seat, Mr. Jackson." said Mr. Chiron in a flat monotone. He was the most boring history teacher any of the class had ever had, and hardly any of them bothered to stay awake for most lessons.

Percy slumped down into his desk at the back of the classroom and put his head down on his crossed arms. After only a few seconds of trying to nap, he felt a warm hand shaking his shoulder.

Percy rolled his head towards the source and opened one eye. The one person in school he called his friend was trying to wake him up, as if he had something important to tell him.

"What, Jason?" he mumbled into his shirtsleeves. Jason grabbed him by the collar and hauled him upright. Then he leaned over and spoke quietly.

"You may wanna listen to this," he said pointedly, his blue eyes sparkling as always. "Chiron hinted it might be on the test."

Percy reached into his desk and pulled out a notebook, which he slapped onto Jason's desk.

"Take notes. I'm going to sleep," he whispered, keeping his head down and slumping back onto his desk.

Jason grabbed his collar again before he could lay his head down. He quickly let go as Percy turned to face him.

"Woah," he said, looking at Percy's pale face. "You look exhausted. You okay?"

"Aren't I always?"

"You know what I mean."

Percy coughed into his sleeve, and Jason gave him a worried look.

"So why were you late again? Does that armadillo happened to be named Gabe Ugliano?"

"He was just being a pain last night," Percy started, rolling his eyes. "He woke me up at 3 in the morning because apparently I needed to mow the lawn. Well, it took half an hour to explain that it's October, therefore the grass does not grow, and that it was snowing, making it impossible for me to mow. Then he totally exploded on me because he couldn't find his emergency cash," Percy snorted. "_As if_ he actually saves his money. And _as if _he actually needed it to buy _more _alcohol. Anyway, long story short, he wouldn't let me sleep after that so I ended up mowing the lawn very early this morning after a long incoherent discussion with him."

"There's like 2 feet of snow on the ground," Jason protested. "How did you...?"

"I shoveled first."

"You shoveled the lawn?"

Percy nodded tiredly.

"It was like 5 degrees out last night. You shoveled your lawn then mowed it?"

He nodded again. "And right before school, I had to fix his stupid car. Dang thing wouldn't start for like half an hour, and it was freezing. I had to hitch a ride after I missed the bus."

Jason shook his head, and a few strands of his blonde hair fell onto his forehead. "That's rough buddy."

"So can I sleep through this one?"

Jason flipped a pen through his fingers and opened the notebook.

"Yeah, I got this."

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Jason shook him awake right before the end of class and handed him the notebook. Percy glanced through it and saw dozens of helpful notes, written in neat handwriting. Jason had the best handwriting in the entire class, even better than the girls. He was a good kid, straight A's, in the running for valedictorian, and the school's star running back. He was always polite, so the teachers and adults loved him. He was the exact opposite of Percy, but for some reason they clicked, and neither one of them would choose a different best friend.

"Thanks," he said, yawning. Jason thanked Mr. Chiron before leaving the classroom, and he and Percy walked to their lockers together.

They had first met in 6th grade in front of their lockers, when Jason was struggling to open his. Percy had noticed he was having trouble, so he walked up and pounded on the side of the locker. The door had swung open, and Jason had grinned hugely.

"Wow, that's cool! How did you know it would open like that?" he had asked him.

Percy had shrugged. "That was my locker last year, and I never could remember the stupid combination."

"So you just pound it?"

"Yupp."

"Awesome!"

Jason had hung around him that whole day, inviting him over to his house after school after the last class was over. Percy had accepted, and they had been inseparable ever since.

This year, their lockers were next to each other again. They both pounded the doors and they swung open. Jason remembered his combination, but he opened it by the untraditional method for the novelty of it. Percy had no idea what his combination was, so he opened it that way out of necessity.

"Hey, I have to babysit Colin and Rosie today until 6," Jason said, organizing his books alphabetically in his locker. "You wanna come over? My mom made a bunch of lasagna, and you can take some home for your dad so you don't have to cook."

Colin and Rose Grace were Jason's younger siblings, 4 and 5 years old, respectively. They idolized Jason, as he was almost 17 and seemed like an adult to them, and looked up to his friends as well.

"Awh, you know I'm no good with kids," Percy started.

"Come on. They adore you."

"But she makes me play dress up!"

"You know my mom's lasagna is amazing."

Percy slammed his locker shut.

"Fine. I'm in."

Jason beamed at him. "Great. We have to go pick them up from school. I can drop you off at home after we're done."

They headed for the parking lot, where Jason's red 1996 Honda Accord was. It was snowing softly, so Jason tugged his gloves on and wrapped his scarf around his neck while Percy shoved his hands deeper in his pockets to keep out the biting wind. The passenger door of Jason's Accord didn't work, so Jason slid into the driver's seat and leaned over to roll down the window. Percy hopped in through the opening, and quickly rolled the window up again.

The kindergarten/preschool building was only a few blocks away. As soon as the car was in view of the front door, they heard two high-pitched squeals of delight, and saw Colin and Rose, both bundled up in heavy winter coats, hobbling towards them.

"Jason!" they shrieked happily, as he scooped them up in a hug and spun them around. They giggled when he kissed them both on the cheek and set them down.

"Col! Rosie!" he exclaimed, mimicking their tone. "How was school?"

"Fun, but I missed you lots." Rose said sadly.

"I missed you lots, too!" Col lisped. "But I got to eat cookieth today."

"You did? That's good. My day was also fun, but I missed you both all day long!" They smiled approvingly, and Jason glanced over at Percy. "You remember Percy, right?" he asked them, pointing his thumb at him.

"_Pwince _Pewcy!" The little girl corrected him. "He's the pwince!"

"Oh, yes, of course. _Prince_ Percy." Jason nodded seriously.

Rose went over and wrapped her arms around Percy's knees. She looked up at him with adoring brown eyes.

"Are we gonna pway dwess up again, Pwince Pewcy?" she asked, her eyes wide and innocent.

Percy smiled one of his rare smiles.

"Anything you want, Princess Rosie."

Jason grinned, then turned to Colin.

"What are you doing out here like this?" he scolded, zipping up his little brother's jacket. "You're going to get sick, and Mom's gonna have a fit!"

"Sowwy," he said, clearly not sure why he was sorry.

Jason shook his head and ruffled Colin's hair. "Never mind, Col. Get in the car, both of you."

Percy walked over to the backseat, Rose still clinging to his leg, and lifted her into her booster seat then buckled her in.

"Does dat hurt?" she asked, pointing to his bruised eye.

Percy nonchalantly shrugged. "Nawh, it's just a little bump."

"Didjoo get it fighting a dwagon?"

He smiled again. "Yeah. Just for you."

Her face lit up and she bounced up and down in the seat.

On the ride home, the toddlers chattered indistinctly about their day. Even though most of it was unintelligible, Jason gave them his whole and undivided attention, saying "_Mmhm_," and "How was that?" and "Was that fun?" whenever they trailed off. Percy could tell Jason was enjoying himself. He loved his little siblings dearly, and would do anything for them.

When they reached Jason's house in a nice neighborhood, they went inside to peel off the many layers of the kids' clothing. Jason had made sure they went to school with at least 3 jackets each, and it was a challenge to wrestle the squirming kids out of them. Jason took their wet boots and lay them by the fireplace to dry, while Percy started the fire.

The house was old-fashioned, with a real wood burning fireplace as the central heat supply, and low ceilings resembling the 1800's time period. It was a two story house, with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, and a roof that sometimes leaked when it rained. Percy loved the house anyway, as it had a charming, homey feel to it that his own house had been lacking. Mr. and Mrs. Grace treated him like a second son, and he always made a point to be polite to them. James Grace was an architect, and Penelope Grace was a paralegal at the law firm downtown, and they usually worked late. But they always seemed happy to see Percy after a long day and often invited him over for dinner.

After successfully lighting a fire, Percy joined the group in the kitchen, where Jason was making hot chocolate.

"Pewcy, will you make us some cookieth again?" Colin pleaded. "You make the best cookieth ever!"

Rose nodded enthusiastically.

"Woah woah woah," Jason said. "Didn't you say you had cookies at school?"

Colin's face fell, but he shook his head no.

"Are you _sure,_ Col?" Jason prompted.

"Yeah. We had bwoccoli at school! No cookieth!"

Percy and Jason looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Nice try, kid," Percy said appreciatively, but Jason elbowed him in the ribs.

"We don't encourage lying!" he muttered to him. Then he sternly turned towards Colin.

"Now, _Colin James_, did you have _cookies_ at school, or did you have _broccoli_?"

At the sound of his middle name, Colin's upper lip quivered.

"_Cookieth_," he whispered to the floor.

"That's what I thought," Jason said approvingly. "All right, since you told the truth, Percy is allowed to make you cookies _if_ he wants to. But you can only have 2 each, or you'll get a stomachache and Mom'll have a fit."

They immediately bombarded Percy with "pwetty pwease"'es " with a chewwy on top?"'s. Percy complied with their request, and within 20 minutes a plate of warm chewy chocolate chip cookies was sitting on the counter.

"Mm, Percy," Jason said, leaning against the countertop and cramming one into his mouth. "I don't know how you do it, but you make the best cookies I've ever had."

"It's my mom's recipe," Percy said, his mouth also full. "We used to make them all the time before..." he trailed off.

Jason straightened up to look at him.

"So how is your mom doing? When is she getting out of the hospital?"

Percy shrugged powerlessly. "No idea. The doctor hopes she'll be back for Christmas, but I'm not sure. It doesn't usually work out."

"Hey, anything you need, you just call, okay?"

Percy nodded.

"Next time you visit her, can I come?" Jason asked. "She still likes me, right?"

Percy snorted and lightly whacked Jason in the back of the head. "Everyone likes you. Sure, I'm probably going to visit tomorrow after school, she's having another treatment done then."

"I'll be there."

Percy smiled gratefully at him. Then Jason turned around and yelled into the living room, "Hey! I hope you guys aren't leaving crumbs everywhere! If the house if dirty when she comes back-"

"Mom's gonna have a fit!" Rose called back. "I know! We're not spiwwing! Stop being so mean to us!"

"Rose Elizabeth..." Jason started. Then her head popped around the corner.

"Yes?" she asked innocently, eyes wide.

He smiled. "I love you."

"I wuv you too. Can I have anudder cookie?"

"Can you ask for it nicely?"

"May I pwease have anudder cookie pwease?"

"Yes you may. But that's it, no more until after dinner."

He leaned down and handed her a warm cookie and she scurried away with it.

The boys smiled after her.

"So, are you going to the game this Saturday?" Jason asked him.

"Wouldn't miss it," Percy grinned. "It's always fun to see your best friend get tackled."

"Hey," Jason protested. "I'm too quick, I never get tackled!"

Percy snickered. "Yeah, so what happened last time?"

Jason blushed. "That was an accident," he stammered. "There was definitely a pothole on the field."

"Whatever," Percy smiled again. "You're still the best running back the school's ever had."

"He is! He is!" Rose and Colin came bouncing in from the living room.

Colin went over to Jason with his arms outstretched, and Jason lifted him up onto the counter.

"We're goin' to the game, too!" Colin announced proudly, spitting cookie crumbs onto the floor.

Jason grabbed a dish towel off the counter and scooped up the mess.

"And who are you going to sit with?" Jason asked Colin.

Colin pointed to Percy. "You!"

Percy swiveled his head towards Jason and cocked an eyebrow.

Jason shrugged. "I promised them. My parents are going to a dinner party in the city that night, and they can't sit by themselves."

"Oh, fine," Percy said, not too disappointedly, while the kids cheered. "But that's two you owe me now."

Jason winked at him. "I'll make it up to you somehow."

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**A/N**

**Okay, there's chapter two!:) Again, I didn't see any mistakes, but:**

**Logan=Percy**

**Andrew=Poseidon**

**Paul=Jason**

**Damien=Gabe**

**Thanks so much for reading! Also, thank you to all who followed/favorited/reviewed. Next chapter should be soon!**

**Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	3. Chapter 3

"Go," Apollo whispered quietly to Officer Poseidon. Apollo was his young rookie partner, and although he could sometimes be hot-headed, Poseidon trusted him to have his back.

Presently, they were at a suspect's house, about to make an arrest. This morning, the police received an anonymous report from a neighbor that the suspect, Ethan Nakamura, was in possession of a large amount of illegal drugs. When Poseidon and Apollo showed up at his house, there was no sign of Nakamura, so the pair drew their weapons and walked through the unlocked door.

"Police! Come out with your hands up!" Poseidon ordered, poking his gun around every corner before stepping around it.

Suddenly, shots were fired behind the two. Poseidon and Apollo whirled around to see their suspect fleeing the house, a gun dangling in his hand.

"Freeze!" Apollo shouted, but the suspect merely turned his head and fired three more shots at the officers. Poseidon raised his weapon and fired.

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Percy jogged out of his house at precisely half past five. Gabe would be out playing poker and boozing up at a friend's house all weekend, so he didn't have to worry about being back late.

Percy turned the key in Gabe's 1995 Ford. It took a few tries, but it eventually started up, and he backed out of the driveway.

He reached the school and parked his car, then headed towards the stadium. Jason was already in his uniform, waiting for him outside the locker room with Colin and Rose.

"Nice," Percy remarked, as Jason transferred his siblings' hands to Percy's. "You ready?"

Jason grinned. "Oh yeah."

"Grace! Get in here!" Coach Hedge yelled from inside the locker room.

"See ya!" Jason said, as he spun around and headed to gather with the team.

"Bye!" his siblings called as they wiggled their fingers at him. "Good luck!"

With a child holding onto each of his pinkies, he lead them towards the stadium. They climbed to the middle of the stands, where they would have a good view of everything.

Since they were a little early, the stands were only half full, but Percy knew that by game time there would hardly be room to stand. He looked up at the sky, noting that it was a little cloudy.

His eyes fell on the girl that was seated in the same row several yards away. She was sitting alone, and he couldn't help but stare. He had seen her around at school, although he never talked to her, but he knew her name was Annabeth. She was the smart, quiet type, and even though she got plenty of attention from boys, she never payed them a second glance. She was extremely pretty, with her curly blonde hair blowing in the cool October air under her white knitted hat, and her grey eyes reflecting the storm clouds. She was wearing a bright yellow scarf and a green fitted jacket, with black jeans and the kind of short boots with heels Percy didn't know the name for.

He was startled and jumped when a small sticky voice whispered close to his ear, "Is she your girlfwiend?"

Percy turned to see Rose staring at him with her warm chocolate eyes. He smiled and shook his head.

"Nawh."

"But she's pwetty."

"I know."

Rose giggled and started humming to herself.

Percy glanced back over at Annabeth, then quickly looked away when their eyes met. He felt an awkward kind of excitement in his chest from the way she looked at him. It was nice, and Percy wanted to feel it again.

Thoughts ran through his mind._ She's sitting alone... I can just go up and- no. I have the kids with me. Oh wait! I might score some points that way... They're pretty adorable. Hmm..._

He was just formulating a plan to go talk to her when a buzzer sounded throughout the stadium, making everyone look around. An announcement blared through the speakers, "_ATTENTION. THE GAME WILL BE DELAYED FOR 10 MINUTES WHILE WE SORT OUT TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. THANK YOU_."

There were audible groans throughout the stadium. Percy was just about to get up and introduce himself to Annabeth when a guy started clambering over the bleachers towards her from behind.

_Great, _Percy thought, recognizing the figure heading towards her, assuming he was her boyfriend._ Just figures she's dating the biggest jerk in school. _Luke Castellan. He had been on the football team before the coach threw him off for his bad grades and his even worse attitude. Percy had gotten into several fights with him, most of them ending on a draw, with bloody noses and black eyes for each of them. Percy couldn't think of a single person in school who wasn't on Luke's bad side, and watched with annoyance as he wrapped his arms around Annabeth from behind.

Annabeth's reaction was not at all what Percy had been expecting. She immediately threw Luke's arms off her and stood up, nearly falling head first into the next row. Luke grabbed her waist to prevent her from losing her balance, but she spun around and slapped his hands away. They began a heated argument, not loud enough for Percy to hear, but the gestures and facial expressions were obvious. He could tell Annabeth was getting upset, and when Luke grabbed her by the shoulders he shot to his feet.

"Rosie, Col, stay here, I'll be right back," he told them, rushing over to the arguing duo.

"I told you to leave me alone!" Annabeth was saying, struggling against his grip. "Ow!"

"And I told you that we're not done!" he growled, shaking her roughly.

"Hey!" Percy said loudly, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around. "Knock it off!"

"Stay out of this, Jackson!" Luke snarled as he slammed his palms into Percy's chest, sending him tumbling backwards into the row above.

Luke turned back towards Annabeth, who immediately slapped him across the face.

"Get lost, jerk!"

Luke pulled his hand back, as if he was about to hit her, and she closed her eyes tight and turned her head away.

"That's enough!" Percy shouted, on his feet again, as he gripped Luke's wrist as tightly as he could.

Luke whirled around, but Percy pulled his wrist to twist his arm behind his back and yanked upwards. Then, he shoved Luke towards the end of the row, making him stagger towards the exit, clutching his arm.

"Get out of here, before something bad happens to your face!" Percy yelled at him, balling his hands into tight fists.

"Be careful what you say," Luke warned.

"Be careful who you mess with!" Percy shot back. "Leave!"

Surprisingly, with his wounded pride, Luke headed down through the exit.

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He exhaled a puff of air through his mouth, which immediately turned to fog in the chilly air. He turned to Annabeth, who looked upset.

"Are you alright?" he asked kindly. The tone of his voice surprised him, he couldn't remember ever hearing himself talk like that to anyone.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, still looking shaken, but sounding more angry than harmed. "He's just a such a jerk! I mean, we used to be best friends, then we finally decided to date over the summer. I called it off because he was getting too into it. He thinks he's all that, all the time, and when someone tells him he can't get what he wants, he just blows up like that! Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, as if she just realized Percy was there. "I didn't mean to rant at you."

"No, it's alright!" Percy said quickly, in the same gentle tone. "I understand. I'm sorry he was bothering you like that."

She nodded absently.

"By the way, I'm Percy. Percy Jackson," he introduced, holding out a hand for her to shake, something he observed Jason doing quite often but hardly ever put into practice himself.

She smiled and shook his hand. "Annabeth Chase."

_What a pretty name, _he thought, smiling like an idiot.

"So, are you here alone?" he inquired.

"Oh, yeah." she said, gesturing to the empty seats next to her. "I don't really have anyone to go with, but I like the excitement of it all."

"D'you wanna hang out with me?" he asked. "I'm kind of babysitting my friend's sibs, but I'm sure they'll like you," he smiled hopefully.

"Sure," she grinned back, nodding. They walked over to where Colin and Rosie were sitting nervously. Rosie's trepidation vanished immediately when Annabeth sat down.

"She _is _your girlfwiend!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "She can be a pwincess too!"

Percy blushed deeply, but it was hardly noticeable as his cheeks were already red from the cold.

"Rosie," he said, ignoring her comment. "This is Annabeth. She's going to sit with us, okay?"

Rose nodded enthusiastically, while a tear dripped down Colin's cheek.

"Hey, bud, what's wrong?" Percy asked, confused.

"That was scawwy," he sniffled. "You used a loud scawwy voice."

Percy half-smiled and gave Colin a hug.

"Hey, I'm sorry, Col," Percy said soothingly. "I just had to be loud to get that guy to go away. He was bothering Annabeth."

Colin sniffed a few more times, then nodded. "Can you use your quiet voice from now on?"

Percy laughed. "Yes. I promise."

Annabeth sat down in between Rose and Percy.

"So, whose sibs are these?" she asked Percy.

"Jason Grace's. I'm sure you know him," Percy told her.

"The class president?"

"Yupp."

"The one that's playing today?"

"That's the one."

"He's good looking and all, but they're _adorable_!"

"We know," Rosie cut in, and Annabeth laughed softly.

Suddenly, the marching band came out, playing the school's song, followed by the football team. Everyone was standing up and cheering, so Percy lifted Colin onto his shoulders and Rosie stood on the bleachers to see. The three of them cheered when number 21 ran out onto the field.

"Go Hawks!" an overenthusiastic dad yelled from several rows down. "You got this! _You got this_!"

Manhattan's team, the Hawks, were welcoming the challengers, the Pythons, for the second time. Last month, the Hawks crushed the Pythons in an embarrassing defeat, and the Pythons were back with a vengeance. The players did not look happy as they strolled out behind the home team, and they all had angry glints in their eyes.

A freshman girl came out and sang the national anthem, and the stadium roared with applause as she sang the final notes. The teams lined up, and the game began.

After only a few plays, it started to drizzle. Percy turned up his collar then turned to pull Rose and Colin's hoods up.

"Do _not_ get sick on my watch," he muttered, also zipping up their jackets.

The air was getting colder, and by halftime the Hawks had only scored 6 points, from a spectacular touchdown executed by Jason. After that excitement, the energy in the stadium picked up for a few minutes, but now people were starting to leave. The stands were now less than half full, so Percy decided to move up to the front row, the closest to the field. Rose and Colin were still in high spirits, and kept waving and jumping up and down every time they saw their big brother.

"So, is this game boring you?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"Not at all!" she said, cheeks flushed from the cold and enthusiasm. "I like just being out here, watching these guys put their heart into the game. It's okay if they hardly score."

Percy smiled. "Hardly any of the other girls stuck around after it started raining," he noted.

"Well they're stupid and don't know what they're missing," she said matter-of-factly.

Percy considered that for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

The halftime show, which had consisted of an elaborate cheerleading display, was over, and the players were back on the field, more determined than ever.

When play resumed, both teams played aggressively, each scoring 20 points in the next few minutes. The Hawks still had the lead by 4 points.

The linemen were slipping and sliding in the mud formed by the light rain, but that hardly slowed them down. The quarterback was now the target of many forceful tackles from the defense, and he hardly had any chances to pass to Jason.

When the Pythons had the ball, the Hawk's defense attacked with just as much vigor, stopping nearly every one of their passes.

The football was turned over to the Hawks again, with 5 minutes left in the game. One of the coaches called for a time-out, and each team went into a tight huddle. After a few moments of consultation, the teams returned to the starting lines, each with a new strategy. The Hawks had to get the ball at least 20 yards, or they'd have no hope of scoring this round. The whistle was blown, and the football was hiked to the quarterback.

By some miracle, the quarterback saw an opening, and he ran 10 yards before throwing the ball to number 21, who was near the end zone. Jason rushed forward to catch it, but so did two of the defense. They were both at least twice Jason's size, but he kept running for the ball, determined.

One of the defense slammed into Jason's chest, crashing their helmets together. They both hit the ground hard, with the defense landing on top of Jason, and rolled a few feet before stopping their momentum.

Meanwhile, the other defensive player had tried to catch the ball, but it had slipped through his fingers and instead bounced away on the field.

"Foul! _Foul_!" Annabeth was shouting, and hopping up and down while the crowd jeered loudly. Percy had stood up immediately as soon as he saw the Python heading towards Jason, and now, as he craned his head to see them, he saw the defense push himself up off of Jason and stagger to his feet. Jason hadn't moved.

"Boo! Foul!" Percy heard his voice join the crowd, as paramedics in bright white uniforms rushed onto the field.

The referee finally announced a spearing and a passing interference foul, while seemed to satisfy the crowd.

"Oh no," Percy muttered, as he saw the medics slowly started to remove Jason's helmet.

"What happened?" Colin asked, jumping on the bench to see what was going on, as it started to rain a little harder.

Percy pulled him down. "Sit down and stay here," he told the kids. "Watch them for a sec, will you?" he asked Annabeth, who nodded.

He quickly clambered over the bleachers and onto the field, then sprinted to his friend. A referee tried to hold him back, but he said "I'm here watching his siblings, and his parents aren't here, let me through!" and the referee let him pass.

One paramedic was examining the boy who had tackled Jason, and the other was trying to get a response from Jason, who was conscious, but not moving. Percy knelt by him concernedly, angling his body to keep the rain off Jason. His right knee made a deep hole in the mud, and he leaned back on his right foot, his fist resting on his left knee.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked the paramedic.

"Give me a second, kid," the professional answered, to which Percy huffed, annoyed.

"Hey, can you hear me, kid?" the paramedic asked Jason loudly, slapping his cheeks softly.

"His name's Jason," Percy told him, and the annoying paramedic glared at him.

Jason nodded almost imperceptibly, then coughed. He started taking short, shallow breaths, and it looked difficult for him.

"Are you in any pain, Jason?" the head paramedic asked, and Percy sighed loudly at the stupid question.

Even lying on the ground, injured, Jason still had the morality to give Percy a look, as if to say "_be polite!_" Jason gave a tiny nod to the medic.

"Alright, Jason. Can you move at all?" the technician asked, looking him over.

Jason closed his eyes and focused for a moment, but then snapped his eyes open, panicking, shaking his head no.

"Okay then, I'll be right back, I'm going to go get you a stretcher. Stay here," he ordered, then jogged off towards the equipment room.

"Oh my god. Where does he think you're going? Idiot." Percy mumbled to Jason. Jason gave him a reproaching look, so Percy said, "Sorry, but really."

"C-could you-" Jason started to choke out, but Percy put a hand on his friend's shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it. I'll call your parents and drive Col and Rosie to the hospital."

"N-not at the s-same t-time." Jason told him.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, whatever. I'll make sure they have warm clothes, and that they're fed and happy until your parents get back."

"Don't f-forget their-"

"I'll get the booster seats, don't worry. I've got it under control."

Jason smiled gratefully, but his smile turned into a grimace as he remembered the stabbing pain in his chest. He took a few shallow breaths as the rain kept falling, soaking his blonde hair.

Percy squeezed his friend's shoulder while he focused on breathing. "Hang in there, man," he said. "You'll be alright."

Jason nodded slightly, his face still twisted in pain.

The bumbling paramedic had returned with a stretcher and friend, and they lifted Jason onto the stretcher.

"_PLAY WILL RESUME IN 10 MINUTES_," an announcement blared through the speakers. The crowed gave Jason a respectful ovation as he was carried off the field.

Percy jogged back to his group.

"Hey guys, Jason has to go to the hospital, so we're going to go with him, alright?" he told Rose and Colin, kneeling down to their level. Their lips immediately started to quiver, but Annabeth cut in.

"Hey now, it's okay. Jason gets to ride in the ambulance, and they'll put the siren on for him and everything!" she said enthusiastically. "And you'll get to see around the hospital!"

The kids faces brightened at this, and Percy smiled at Annabeth gratefully.

"Thanks," he mouthed to her.

She nodded. "Do you need any help? I could go with you, if you like," she offered.

"Oh, no, I couldn't," Percy protested.

"Psh, I have nothing else to do. It won't be a problem. After all, you helped me out today."

Percy grinned. "Alright, thanks. Come on, I parked this way."

Both of the teens held the hand of a child, and they headed for the parking lot. They stopped at Jason's car to grab the booster seats, and Percy called Mr. Grace while Annabeth installed them.

Mr. and Mrs. Grace were understandably distraught, and promised to be there as soon as possible, but wouldn't be for at least 4 hours. Percy promised to call them with updates, and hung up as he slid into the driver's seat.

He spotted the ambulance, and the paramedics loading Jason into it. Percy started up the car to follow as the ambulance blared out of the parking lot. The rain had let up a little, but he still had to turn the windshield wipers on.

By now, Percy was feeling anxious and worried, so he absentmindedly grabbed the pack of cigarettes his stepdad had left on the dashboard and lit one.

He had just raised it to his lips when Annabeth snatched it out of his hand and put it out in the ashtray.

"What-?"

"There are kids in here!" she scolded, tossing the cigarette out the window.

"Oh, right, sorry. I'm not thinking straight," Percy said distractedly.

"Besides, that's terrible for you." she said, obviously disapproving.

"Yeah, tewwibow!" Rose piped up from the backseat.

Percy glanced in the rear view mirror.

"Sorry guys, my bad," he apologized. After a moment's thought, he added, "Don't tell Jason."

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**A/N**

**So, how was that?:) Hope you liked it! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, I made it extra long to make up for it! Next update will be sooner:)**

**Thanks for all the follows and favorites you've all given me! I really appreciate it!**

**Please review and tell me what you thought:) Thanks for reading!**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

**Warning for abuse. Not too bad, but still.**

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When they reached the hospital, the paramedics rushed Jason to the ER. Percy, Annabeth, Colin, and Rosie took seats in the waiting room. Percy was still distracted, and not paying attention to anything.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked concernedly, looking him in the eyes. Percy was suddenly struck by how pretty her eyes were. It was like they kept reflecting storm clouds even though they were inside.

"Yeah, I'm just a little anxious," he said, sighing. He lowered his voice so Colin and Rosie couldn't hear him. "Jason's my best friend, it'd just majorly suck if anything really bad happened."

"Why don't you go take a walk to blow off some steam?" Annabeth suggested. "I'll watch the kids."

"We'we not kids, we'we pwacticawwy aduwts," Rosie corrected, and Annabeth smiled.

"You're right, I'm sorry," she said. "You know what's really adult that we can do to keep us from getting bored?"

"Huh?" Rosie asked interestedly.

"We can color," Annabeth smiled, pulling a box of colored pencils and a sketch pad out of her purse. She quickly flipped to the blank pages in the back, but not before Percy caught a glimpse of architectural designs neatly drawn on most of the pages.

"Go cool off, I can handle this," Annabeth assured him, and Percy smiled at her.

"Thanks. I won't be long."

The truth was, Percy wasn't wound so tightly just because of Jason. That was weighing heavily on him as well, but he was really so uptight because he wanted to visit his mom, Sally Jackson.

He knew the way to her room by heart, he'd had the way memorized for months. He walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor- the Oncology Ward.

Percy got off the elevator and walked to room 417, stopping at the open door to knock on the door frame.

"Come on in," a weak voice called.

Percy took a deep breath and forced himself to put on an easy smile.

"Hi, sweetie," Sally smiled at him, her face brightening at the sight of her son. She looked ready to fall asleep, but she tried to open her eyes and be alert nonetheless.

"Hi, mom," Percy said gently, walking around to the side of her bed and planting a kiss on her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Mrs. Jackson sighed, and Percy noticed how pale and sick she looked, which worried him. "Tired. Honestly, I can't wait to come home."

"I can't wait for you to come home, either," Percy said. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you more, sweetheart," Sally said, reaching her hand out. Percy took her hand in both of his and squeezed it.

"What are you doing here a day early?" Sally asked. "I didn't think you were coming until tomorrow."

"Jason got hurt during the football game," Percy explained. "I drove him here."

"Oh no, is he alright?" Sally asked worriedly. She had always liked Jason, and treated him like a second son.

"I think he's gonna be fine, maybe a couple broken ribs at the worst," Percy assured her, trying to downplay the injury. "He'll be alright, he's tough."

Sally smiled. "Tell him he needs to take it easy, and make sure to tell him I said hello."

They talked quietly for a while, before Sally noticed the light bruise on Percy's cheekbone. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became solemn.

"Is he still hitting you?" His mom asked softly, reaching up to cup his cheek with her hand.

Percy took her hand away and held it. "It's fine, mom," he whispered, squeezing her hand gently.

Percy's mother frowned. "No it's not, baby. I promise, as soon as I get better, we're going to move away from here. I'll get my own job, we won't need Gabe to pay the bills, and he won't ever hurt you again."

"You won't have to work, mom," Percy said. "I'll get a job, you can just stay home and rest."

His mom shook her head firmly. "No, no, sweetheart. I'm gonna get a job, then you're going to college. You're going to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or whatever you want."

"Then I'll come back to you," Percy said softly, sliding off the chair and kneeling by the hospital bed. "And I'll buy you everything you want. Anything. You'll have a car that always starts, a clean white house with purple curtains, and whatever else you can think of."

"I love you, baby," Sally murmured, her eyes slowly closing. "You're such a good boy."

"I love you too, Mom," Percy said, biting his lip, hard. "Just get better, okay? I'll come back and see you soon."

His mom didn't answer, since she had already fallen asleep.

Percy half-smiled, and stood up. He bent down to give his mother a kiss on the cheek, then quietly turned and left the hospital room.

He hopped back in the elevator down to the ER. He was about to head back to Annabeth and the kids, when he heard his name behind him.

"Percy?"

He whirled around to see Officer Poseidon, holding a horse magazine and sitting in the adjacent waiting room with a young, golden-haired policeman. Surprised, he headed over to them.

"What are you doing here?" Percy asked, not sure if the question was rude or not. Jason would probably know.

"I was about to ask you the same question," Poseidon smiled. "I'm here with my partner. Percy, this is Apollo Evans. Apollo, this is Percy Jackson."

Percy nodded at Apollo, who looked a little nervous.

"We're here on a case," Poseidon explained. "Earlier today, we were chasing a suspect. He tried to run, and took a couple of shots at us. Apollo here hasn't quite mastered the art of shooting people in non-vital areas, and we had to rush the guy to the hospital. We're waiting for him to get out of surgery so we can question him."

"Ah," Percy nodded, then figured he might as well explain why he was there. "I'm here with my friend. He got hurt at the football game."

"You go to Goode High?" Apollo asked. "The game against the Pythons?"

"That's the one," Percy nodded.

"Go Hawks!" Apollo said enthusiastically. "I graduated from Goode before joining the police academy."

"Good for you," Percy said, trying not to roll his eyes. He glanced back at his waiting room and saw a nurse walk over to Annabeth.

"Hey, I gotta go," he said, skipping backwards. "See you later."

"Bye, kid," Poseidon said, then went back to reading his horse magazine. "Stay out of trouble," he added absentmindedly.

"What's the news?" Percy interrupted the nurse, who was in the middle of explaining something to Annabeth. "How's Jason?"

The nurse turned to him and smiled. "Jason's going to be alright, honey. He cracked a few ribs, but he'll be fine. He can go home any time now, as long as he takes it easy and rests up."

"Can we go see him?" Percy asked, and the nurse nodded.

"Right this way, kids."

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"Hey," Jason said weakly when the group came in.

"Jason!" Rosie exclaimed, rushing up to his bed. "Are you okay? Are we pwaying hospital?"

Jason smiled down at her. "Yeah. When we get home, you can be the doctor and I'll pretend to be sick, alright?"

Rosie smiled back, and lifted her arms for Jason to pick her up.

Jason hesitated before grit his teeth and set her on the edge of his bed, trying not to groan.

"The nurse said not to overexert yourself," Percy frowned.

"I'll be fine," Jason assured him, while Rosie started playing with the buttons that moved the bed up and down.

"By the way, you are such a jerk, man," Percy said, shaking his head. "Don't do that again."

"What, break my ribs? That was fun, I was going to maybe break a couple more next weekend," Jason protested.

"If you weren't lying on a hospital bed, I'd punch you, you know that, right?" Percy shook his head.

"Violence is nevew the answer," Colin spoke up, toddling over to Jason's bed as well. Percy stepped forward and set him on the edge next to his sister, so Jason wouldn't have to lift him.

"Hey, Annabeth, right?" Jason smiled, noticing his extra visitor. "What're you doing here?"

"I met Percy at the game," she explained. "I decided to tag along to the hospital to help watch Colin and Rosie."

"Thanks," Jason said, and Annabeth smiled.

"No problem. They're adorable."

"We know," Rosie said again.

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Once they had gotten Jason checked out of the hospital, Percy drove Annabeth back to the high school to get her car, where they learned that the Hawks had come back and destroyed the Pythons once again.

Percy drove Jason, Colin, and Rosie back to the Grace residence, then headed back to his own house.

Even though it was late, Gabe still wasn't home yet, which Percy was grateful for. He heated up some leftover soup and went to his room to study.

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Gabe wasn't back until late Sunday night, around midnight. Percy heard him stumble through the house, before hearing him crash into his bed. Percy rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

At 6:00 that Monday morning, Percy poked his head into his parent's bedroom to see his stepfather passed out, the room smelling heavily of alcohol and cigarettes.

Percy took a quick shower to wake himself up, then put on a fresh pair of clothes. Before he pulled his white t-shirt over his head, he checked his arm. Yupp, the bruise Gabe's hand had left was still there.

Sighing, Percy dug through his dresser until he found a long-sleeved sweater, and tugged that on instead. Then, he walked tiredly into the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal.

He had just finished eating when Gabe stumbled into the kitchen, and sat down heavily at the table.

"My car ain't where I parked it," his stepdad remarked, eyeing Percy through bloodshot eyes.

Percy felt a shiver run through his body, and his hands started trembling.

"I borrowed it to go to the football game," he explained, in what he hoped was a steady voice.

"I hope you used your own damn money for gas," his stepfather snarled, as he reached for a bottle that was sitting on the table. He was disappointed to find it empty.

"Pass me the wine," Gabe slurred, pointing to a bottle lying on its side.

"You drank it all," Percy snapped, running his hands through his hair to stop them from shaking.

Gabe rose from the table. "That," he said, as he staggered over to Percy, "is the most depressing thing I've ever heard."

Gabe stumbled. Percy shot up to catch him before he knocked anything over, but his stepdad whirled around faster than Percy had thought possible and punched him in the stomach.

Percy flew backwards into the table, upturning it. Empty bottles of alcohol rolled off the tabletop and rained down onto him. One of them shattered over his head, and Percy quickly ducked his head down to avoid getting any glass in his eyes.

"What the hell were you doin', boy?" his stepfather roared, picking up a broken bottle.

"I-I'm sorry," Percy gasped, staring at the sharp edges of the bottle. He was suddenly very afraid of his stepfather, worried that his Gabe would use the broken bottle on him.

Gabe raised the bottle over his head, and Percy flinched horribly. Instead of feeling glass cut into him, he heard the bottle hit the wall behind him.

"I'm gonna get some more beer," his stepdad muttered, turning and grabbing his keys off the counter. "Clean this mess up."

Percy nodded, staring at the ground, his heart pounding, as his stepfather headed out the door, He could feel a bruise forming oh his abdomen where Gabe had struck him. He leaned his head down and used his hand to carefully brush some of the glass out of his hair.

He slowly stood up and righted the table. No sooner had he swept the broken glass to the side with his foot when the front door slammed open, and he jumped.

His stepfather burst in, and wasted no time grabbing Percy by the front of his shirt and pinning him to the wall.

"What the hell did you do to my car?" Gabe demanded, shaking Percy so roughly that his head slammed against the wall.

"I d-don't know w-what-" Percy stammered, already feeling lightheaded from being hit with the bottle, and now dealing with being repeatedly knocked against the wall.

"The goddamned mud everywhere!" His stepfather shouted in his face.

Percy's heart sank. _The mud_. He had forgotten the clean the car out after his jeans had smeared the interior from when he had knelt beside Jason, and the mud that had been left by Rosie and Colin's boots.

Suddenly, Gabe let go of his stepson, and Percy fell right onto the pile of glass he had swept up.

Percy gasped sharply as he felt the shards pierce the entire right side of his body. His stepdad hauled him up by the back of his neck and pushed him back up against the wall.

"Damn kid, don't you ever learn your lesson?" his stepfather demanded, smacking him across the face.

"I'm s-sorry-" Percy whimpered, but he was cut off with another smack.

"Sorry don't cover it, kid!" Gabe shouted, shaking him again. Percy was getting dizzy, and the room spun around him.

Gabe gave him one last disgusted look, then shoved him across the room.

Percy slid across the floor, smearing a trail of blood onto the tile.

"Clean that up, too!" his stepfather barked, before storming out of the house. He slammed the door so hard, it fell off its hinges, and the icy October air blew in.

Percy shut his eyes tightly and took a few short, quick breaths. He painfully rose to his feet and staggered into the bathroom.

Percy slowly pulled off his sweater and winced when he felt some of the glass be pulled out with it. He looked down at his right side and noticed that he had several deep cuts, and saw a few shard of glass still embedded in his skin.

The world was still spinning around him, so he grabbed onto the sink with both hands to steady himself. Blood ran down his right arm, and he held it up, startled to see even more cuts there.

Percy turned the sink on and ran his arm under the cool water until most of the bleeding had stopped. He pulled out a first aid kit from the bathroom closet and took out some gauze and antibiotic ointment.

With his left hand, he carefully squeezed some ointment onto the cuts on his arm, and with some difficulty managed to wrap himself up.

Then, he took some tweezers and pulled the remaining shards of glass out of his arm, cursing softly. Next, got a few clean towels and used them to stop the rest of the bleeding. He used a large patch to cover his injured side, and secured it with medical tape.

Reaching down, he picked up his now ruined sweater and tossed it into the garbage.

He headed into his bedroom for a clean shirt, grabbed another sweater off the floor and quickly pulled it on, wincing when it brushed against his bandages. Then, he cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. Once he had straightened everything out, he glanced at the clock and swore when he saw it was already 6:30.

He had missed the bus.

He quickly grabbed his black leather jacket and rushed out the doorway, propping the door up in front of the door frame. He would have to fix it later. He couldn't afford another detention, if he was late again, he would get suspended.

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**A/N**

**Poor Percy:(**

**Hope you enjoyed it. :) Thanks for all the follows and favs, they mean a lot! And the reviews are like awesome little presents after working on these chapters so long, so thanks for those too:) **

**Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	5. Chapter 5

Percy reached Goode High and ducked inside History class just as the bell rang. Out of breath, he collapsed onto his chair at the back of the classroom.

He saw Jason sitting in his seat out of the corner of his eye. Jason had a perfect attendance record, and apparently he wasn't going to let a little thing like broken ribs stop him from coming to school.

"Percy, you oversleep again?" Jason whispered with a laugh.

He gasped when Percy turned to face him.

"Holy crap, you're bleeding!" he exclaimed, rummaging in his backpack. He came up with a white handkerchief.

"God, Jason, you carry a handkerchief?" Percy rolled his eyes.

Jason ignored him. "Percy, you're bleeding everywhere," he pointed out. Then he raised his hand, and Mr. Chiron called on him.

"Sir, can Percy and I be excused? He cut himself, and needs to go to the nurse."

"Fine, fine," Chiron said absentmindedly. "Just be back before the bell, if possible."

Jason grabbed Percy firmly by the arm. Percy yelped and quickly pulled away, as Jason had grabbed him by his bruise. Jason gave him a strange look, then grabbed onto his jacket and dragged him out the door.

"Percy, what happened?" Jason asked, as soon as they had exited the classroom.

Percy could feel himself nearly start shaking again.

Jason looked closely at Percy's face, and his jaw dropped.

"You're pale as a sheet! Stay here," he said, steering him towards a bench in the middle of the hallway. "I'm gonna go get the nurse."

"No, stop!" Percy exclaimed, grabbing at Jason's sleeve. "I don't wanna go to the nurse, I'm alright."

"Percy, you're not alright," Jason scolded. "I don't care if she asks questions, you're _bleeding_!"

"It's not that bad," Percy insisted, and Jason glared at him and pressed his white handkerchief against his cheekbone. As expected, Percy cried out and flinched away.

"Really? 'It's not that bad?'" Jason hissed, showing Percy the red stained handkerchief. "There's blood soaking through your shirt, too. I know Gabe did this!"

"What if he did?" Percy shot back. "I still can't go to the nurse. If you're there more than three times a month, she reports you to child services!"

"I'll help you think of an excuse," Jason tried, but Percy cut him off.

"A _believable_ one?" Percy scoffed. "I don't think so. If Gabe gets reported, my mom's hospital bills don't get paid and I get sent to a boy's home."

Jason frowned, then sighed. "Fine. Stay here, I've got a first aid kit in my locker."

"Of course you do."

Jason rushed off, then returned moments later with a white kit.

"Come on," he said, pulling Percy up and dragging him into the boy's bathroom. There was nobody in there, since it was class time.

Percy looked in the mirror and raised his eyebrows when he finally saw why Jason really wanted to take him to the nurse. He hadn't even realized his cheek was bleeding, but it was creating a trail of red all the way down to his neck. He grabbed a paper towel and used it to soak up the blood, then cursed when he found another piece of glass embedded in the wound.

"Stop, you're gonna hurt yourself," Jason scolded as Percy tried to dig the shard out. "Plus, you didn't even wash your hands. That's gonna get infected," Jason said, running his own hands under the sink.

"Shut it, Grace. Just patch me up," Percy sighed, pulling his shirt over his head.

Jason peeled off the sloppily applied bandages on Percy's side, and his blue eyes flashed angrily.

"How'd he do all this?" he asked, pouring alcohol on the wounds.

Percy gritted his teeth against the sting. "He dropped me on a pile of glass," he explained. "_And_ he threw me across the floor. I hope no one comes to my house before I get back- it looks like a murder scene," Percy laughed, but Jason didn't even smile.

"That's not funny," Jason shook his head, still fuming.

"_I _think it is," Percy said stubbornly, and Jason sighed again.

"What kind of glass is this?"

"What other kind of glass is at my house? It's beer bottles!" Percy said.

Jason shook his head and continued to patch Percy up, pulling shards of glass out of his side with a tiny pair of tweezers.

"You know, you should really learn how to properly sterilize injuries," Jason remarked, finally bandaging his side. "And you should get a better first aid kit."

"I don't have time for that," Percy said. "Besides, who needs a well-stocked first aid kit when you have a Jason?"

"You loser," Jason rolled his eyes, using about as bad an insult as he ever did. Then he brought out a box of band-aids.

"Oh,_ hell _no!" Percy exclaimed, seeing the sparkly bandages.

"I usually use this kit for Rosie and Colin, what'd you expect?" Jason grinned, opening the box and looking inside. "Oh, sorry. Colin gets hurt more than Rosie, so all the green, yellow, and blue ones are gone."

"Please don't tell me..." Percy shook his head, then groaned.

"You get pink."

"If I get beat up for having a sparkly pink bandaid on my face, I _will_ blame you," Percy said, and Jason just laughed as he stuck it on.

"There!" Jason announced. "You're good as new."

"Thanks," Percy said, picking his shirt off the counter.

Jason looked shocked. "Percy, you're not going to put that on,_ are _you?"

"Uh, I_ was_, but your tone is making me rethink it. Why can't I?"

"It's dirty, you're gonna get an infection! Plus, it's got blood all over it," Jason said. "That's why I grabbed this from my locker."

He tossed Percy an orange gym shirt. Orange and purple were the colors of Goode high, and even though all the girls insisted it was a hideous combination, Percy and Jason always thought the colors were cool, though Jason preferred wearing the purple gym shirts and Percy liked the orange.

Percy and Jason wore the same size, even though Jason was nearly an inch taller, and the shirt fit perfectly.

"Thanks, I owe you one," Percy said.

"No problem, that's what friend are for, right?" Jason said.

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Percy napped through the rest of History class, while Jason stayed alert and took notes for him, as usual.

On the way to his next class, Percy passed Annabeth in the hallway and waved. She smiled and waved her fingers back, but since she was surrounded by a group of people, she didn't approach him.

As Percy rounded the corner, he crashed straight into someone. He fell backwards, as sheets of paper and tubes of paint rained down on him.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" a curly red-haired girl sputtered, scrambling to pick up her art supplies. "Wait, what am I doing?" she said, dropping her papers again and holding out a hand to help Percy up.

Percy took her hand, then quickly drew it away when he felt it was wet.

"What the-?" he said, looking at his now-paint covered hand.

"Ah! Sorry about that, too!" the girl amended, wiping her palms on her already paint splattered jeans. She grabbed Percy by the wrists and hauled him up.

"You know, I had a feeling I was going to meet someone today!" the girl announced, retrieving her belongings. "You must be special! What's your name?"

"Percy," he responded, watching her with curiosity. Then he realized Jason would probably be helping her pick up her stuff, so he did so.

"Percy what?" the girl asked, looking at him with her bright, emerald green eyes.

"Percy Jackson," he said, picking up a piece of paper. He saw a painting of an ocean on it, and admired it for a moment. Then, he saw that most of the other papers that had been scattered were similar paintings- depicting the ocean.

"That's a nice name," the girl smiled. "I'm Rachel Dare."

Percy searched his brain for an appropriate response, coming up with, "Nice to meet you."

She grinned wider. "Nice to meet you too!"

"Did you do these?" Percy asked, holding up a picture of a beach.

"Yeah, this morning," Rachel nodded, grabbing the paper and adding it to her stack.

"You did_ all _of these this morning?" Percy repeated, and Rachel nodded.

"Yeah. I said I had a feeling I was gonna meet someone today," she said. "So I painted what I thought they'd be like. Do you like the ocean, Percy?"

Percy found himself smiling, which he usually didn't do in front of strangers. "Yeah, I love it."

Rachel nodded, satisfied. "That's what I thought. I knew I'd meet someone today who liked the beach, so I painted the ocean and other stuff I thought related to them somehow."

"What's this, then?" Percy asked, examining a picture of a weighted scale. It had a red and blue background, and the word "guilty" was scrawled across the bottom.

Rachel took the painting from him. "I'm not sure. I just felt it. Are you in trouble with the law, Percy?"

"I hope not," Percy said, and she smiled.

"Maybe I was wrong, then," she shrugged.

"What made you paint that one?" Percy asked, pointing to a sketch in her arms. It was an abstract drawing of several hearts, all colored pink and red.

Rachel beamed at him. "It means you're going to fall in love!" she exclaimed happily.

Percy scoffed.

"I haven't been wrong yet," she told him, waving a finger at him. "It's not that far-fetched."

Percy suddenly remembered Annabeth, and he smiled back at Rachel.

"Eh, you_ could _be right," he shrugged, gathering up a few tubes of paint.

"I usually am," she said again.

"How about this one?" Percy asked, picking up the final painting. It was face down, and he flipped it over to reveal...

"Why is it just black?" Percy asked confusedly, flipping the paper over and over.

Rachel frowned. "I don't remember that one. It was the first one I did, so I must've been tired. But usually..." she trailed off.

"Usually what?" Percy prompted.

"Black symbolically stands for death," Rachel explained. "I'm sure I didn't mean that here," she rushed on, "but that tends to be the case."

Percy stared at her.

"Oh, god, you probably think I'm a freak now, don't you?" Rachel asked. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go all crazy on you."

Percy found himself smiling. "It's alright. According to your art, the rest of my life looks good."

"Except for the fact that it looks like you're going to jail," Rachel pointed out, then cursed under her breath. "Sorry, I'm being depressing again, aren't I? I'll work on that. Yeah, the rest of your life looks pretty good!"

Just then the bell rang, and Rachel looked up into Percy's sea green eyes.

"I guess I gotta get to art class," she said. "But we should hang out later."

"Sure," Percy smiled, wondering again why he was being so open with her. "You can show me what you painted for the rest of my life."

"Great," Rachel grinned. "See you, Perce!"

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**A/N**

**Thanks so much for reading!:) And thanks for all the follows and favorites, they make my day!**

**Ooh, Rachel's in there now! :O ;D And poor Percy...**

**Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	6. Chapter 6

Percy headed down the steps of the high school, when he suddenly heard his name being called.

"Perseus Jackson!"

He wasn't used to hearing his full name, not even from teachers, so he turned around with confusion on his face.

Rachel Dare was waving her hand and running down the steps towards him. She was sparkling, which only added to Percy's confusion.

"Hey, Rachel," he said, once she had stopped in front of him. He saw that she was covered in glitter.

"Perseus," she repeated, and her eyes sparkled like the rest of her.

Percy's brow furrowed. "How did you know that's my name?"

Rachel gave a little hop and clapped her hands together. A shower of dust fell off her, like needles on a dry pine tree.

"I was right!" she exclaimed happily, grinning.

Percy stared at her.

Rachel held her open hand out to him, and he saw that she had written something in permanent marker on her palm.

Περσέας.

Percy was dyslexic, and he stared at the word for nearly a full minute before realizing it wasn't even English.

"What the hell does that mean?" Percy asked, just as Jason walked up.

"Don't curse in front of ladies, Percy," he frowned, then looked at Rachel's palm. "Is that Greek?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yes! After I wrote it, I realized it was an_ actual _Greek word. I spent lunch period in the library to look it up."

"I don't recognize it," Jason said, glancing at it again. "What's it mean?"

"Perseus," Rachel said again, and Percy blinked at her.

"It's your name in Ancient Greek," she clarified. "I thought it was just scribbles, but I recognized a symbol."

"That's weird," he finally said. "You're weird."

Jason elbowed Percy, after making sure it was his uninjured side.

"That's not nice," he said, though Rachel didn't seem to mind.

"Superman!" she suddenly snapped her fingers. "That's your favorite superhero, am I right?" she asked Jason.

Jason grinned. "How did you know?"

"It's because he can fly," Rachel smiled, not answering his question. "When you were little, you used to sit on the swingset on your stomach and pretend to fly."

Jason blushed. "I was really young."

"The last time you did it was in your freshman year," Rachel commented. "You were fourteen years old."

Jason's jaw dropped. "How did you-?"

"She's been doing that to me all day," Percy complained. "All I know about her is her name."

Rachel smiled. "I'm having a party on Friday. Come, and we'll talk some more."

Percy and Jason glanced at each other.

"We're free," Jason said. "We'll be there. Text me the address."

"Alright," Rachel said, walking away. "Have a nice day."

"See you," Percy waved.

Jason checked his watch after Rachel rounded the corner. "Hey, man, I've gotta go. The Mathletes are meeting in 10 minutes."

"Nerd," Percy snorted. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Jason said, then suddenly his phone beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw there was a message from an unfamiliar number:

_Valley Vista Park. 6:00 PM. Dress casual. Xoxo- Rachel Elizabeth Dare_

Jason looked at Percy with his mouth open.

"Dude, I never even gave her my number."

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The week passed uneventfully, and Percy was relieved when Friday finally came. He'd never been one for parties, but he'd take any excuse to be out of the house for the weekend.

Jason was going to pick him up at his house, so Percy was sitting on his front porch, smoking a cigarette, waiting for the familiar car to pull up.

As Percy exhaled the smoke, he suddenly found himself doubled over in a coughing fit. He tossed the cigarette aside and coughed violently into his hand. When he pulled his hand away, he wasn't as startled as he should have been to see tiny flecks of blood on his palm. Maybe it was the fact that he was used to blood, but whatever the case he just rubbed his palm across the knee of his jeans.

He had just lit another cigarette when Jason drove up.

"Put that out," he called, reaching over and cranking the window down. "You know you can't smoke in my car."

Percy rolled his eyes but stomped his cigarette into the sidewalk. He strolled over to Jason's Accord and hauled himself in through the window.

"Dude, you need to get this shitty door fixed," Percy cursed, as he accidentally banged his head on the window frame.

Jason chuckled. "The minute I can afford it, I'll let you know."

Jason shifted into gear and started driving down the road.

"How's your side feeling?" Jason asked, glancing at Percy out of the corner of his eye.

"Better," Percy answered honestly. "The cuts are all closed up now."

Jason nodded approvingly.

"So, do you know where the party is?" Percy asked.

Jason nodded again. "I asked Rachel about it this morning. It's going to be at that huge pavilion in the park, she said she rented it out."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Is she rich or something?"

"She said her Uncle owns the park," Jason answered. "Apparently he's just letting her use it."

"Oh."

Fifteen minutes later, when they pulled up to the pavilion, the party was already in full swing. The boys could hear the bass pumping, and there were lights flashing all around them.

Jason and Percy climbed out of the car and headed up the hill, where they saw Rachel standing out front.

"Perseus! Superman!" she exclaimed, rushing to give them both hugs. "Glad you could make it."

Jason smiled, returning the hug, while Percy pulled away quickly.

"Glad to be here," Jason said.

"Go grab yourselves a drink, I'll be right back," Rachel said, turning towards another group of arrivals. "Oh, and nice shirt, Perce."

Percy looked down to see what he was wearing. "Thanks," he said, realizing he had actually put on a decent black button-down shirt with a collar.

"I'll be right back, I'm gonna go say hi to some people," Jason said, glancing around the crowd.

Percy nodded, and grabbed a cup of diet coke off a table of drinks and sipped it. He wandered through the crowd, sidestepping groups of dancing girls and crowds of guys discussing sports, until he found a quiet corner of the pavilion.

Suddenly, he spotted Annabeth, and she stood out so clearly he was amazed he hadn't seen her the moment he had walked in. Her curly blonde hair was down, like a princess's, and she had on a knee-length sapphire blue dress.

Percy was glad he looked decent.

"Hey," he smiled, walking up to her. "You look amazing."

She smiled back at him. "Thanks, Percy. How've you been? Long time no see."

He shrugged. "I'm good, how about you?"

"I'm fine," she said distractedly. "How's Jason?"

"He's better," Percy nodded. "He'll be back on the team in a couple more weeks."

"That's nice," Annabeth said, then they stood awkwardly for a moment.

Percy realized they were almost in the middle of the dance floor. The DJ put on a slow song, and Percy shyly looked into Annabeth's eyes.

"How about it?" he asked, hoping with all his heart she'd say yes.

Annabeth looked surprised for a moment, then nodded. She locked her hands behind Percy's neck. Her touch was so gentle, and it shocked Percy more than any punch ever had.

He hesitantly wrapped his hands around her waist, and slowly started swaying to the music.

Annabeth looked deeply into his eyes.

"What're you doing?" he smiled gently.

She cocked her eyebrow, like she was making calculations. "Tell me about yourself," she said finally.

"What do you mean?" Percy laughed softly.

"I mean, who are you?" Annabeth asked, as they rocked back and forth. "I barely know you, but this just feels so right. All I know about you is you're the guy who sits at the back of the class and sleeps, then gets detention for getting into fights, but that's not you."

"What do you mean, that's not me?" Percy asked confusedly. "That's pretty much what I do."

She shrugged. "I just know there's more to you than that, so tell me. Who are you?"

Percy didn't know what to say. "I, uh, I dunno. I'm just the guy who sleeps at the back of class and gets detention, I guess, like you said."

"That's not it," Annabeth shook her head. "Let me make it easy for you. Tell me something about you that you've never told anyone else."

Percy raised his eyebrows, and thought for a long minute. "When I was four, I had a goldfish named Fishie and he died because I fed him too much."

Annabeth blinked at him, then burst out laughing.

"Wow," she giggled, as the song ended and a more upbeat one started playing. "That's deep."

Percy shrugged and grinned. "What did you expect? Now it's_ your _turn. Tell me something you've never told anyone. Who are _you_?"

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Huh. That's a harder question to answer than I thought."

"Isn't it?" Percy grinned. "Here, I'll make it even easier. Tell me three facts about Annabeth Chase."

"Let's see," Annabeth smiled. "First of all, I am stubborn as hell. Second of all, I always win, and third of all, I'm smarter than all of you."

"Ooh, a wise girl, huh?" Percy teased. "Someone has a little bit of pride."

"Maybe that should have been fact number one," Annabeth said.

The upbeat song ended, and one of the most popular songs of the year started playing.

"Ugh, I'm not dancing to this," Annabeth made a face and pulled Percy off of the dance floor. Percy was glad she didn't like the song, it had gotten on his nerves the very first time he heard it, and couldn't believe how popular it was.

"Do you want something to drink?" Percy asked, and Annabeth nodded.

"That'd be great, thanks."

Percy headed off towards the table full of drinks. He poured two plastic cups full of diet coke, since it looked the least likely to be spiked, and turned back towards the dance floor.

Percy stood off to that side for a moment, watching the party. He always like to watch the activity, and usually preferred it to participating in it. He saw some kids dirty dancing, a few couples making out, Rachel filling a small bag with ice, Luke and Annabeth arguing, the football team crowding the food table... _Wait._

He turned his head back towards Luke and Annabeth. Slowly, he walked towards them until he could hear the conversation.

"What is _wrong _with you?" Annabeth demanded. "I told you, stop bothering me!"

"Babe, listen to me-" Luke started, but Annabeth cut him off.

"Don't call me 'babe,' we're not together anymore," she frowned.

"Give me one more chance, love," Luke said, ignoring her. "I need you."

Annabeth glared and turned to walk away, but Luke's hand darted out and grabbed her wrist. He twisted her around to face him, and she cried out.

That was enough for Percy.

"Hey, jerk!" he called, rushing to the pair. He didn't wait for Luke to acknowledge him. He tossed his plastic cups aside and shoved Luke in the chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rachel gasp as she emerged from the crowd, holding her bag of ice.

Luke staggered backwards, releasing Annabeth's wrist as he landed on the ground. Annabeth tried to step towards him as he got up, but Percy swept her behind him with his arm.

"Jackson, I'm sick of this shit," Luke growled, rushing towards him and grabbing him by his collar. He kept walking, and slammed him against the wall.

For a moment, Percy remembered Gabe, and how he had done the exact same thing not a week ago. He felt his heart start to race, and he shut his eyes.

Luke slammed Percy against the wall again, and he almost blacked out. He wished he hadn't worn a shirt with a collar, because that was making it easy for Luke to shove him around.

"Stop it!" Annabeth shouted, pulling at Luke's arms, but to no avail. He shoved her away with his elbow.

By now, they had attracted an audience. The football team was chanting,_ "Fight! Fight! Fight!" _and the cheerleaders were screaming.

"You think I was gonna let you get away with humiliating me at the football game?" Luke snarled, punching Percy in the jaw. His head smashed against the wall again, and he saw stars.

"You're an asshole," Percy mumbled, and Luke's fury built.

He slammed Percy into the wall again, even harder. Black spots danced in Percy's vision, and he knew he was about to pass out. Through his haze, he saw Luke draw his fist back again.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Luke's fist and spun him around, causing him to drop Percy, who crumpled onto the ground.

Eyes blazing, Jason punched Luke in the jaw, and the whole crowd gasped.

Jason _never_ punched _anyone._

"Get out of here!" Jason shouted, and he was angrier than Percy had seen him in a long time.

Luke got to his feet, his fists up, and a trail of blood running down his mouth.

"_Now_," Jason said darkly, and Luke froze for a moment.

Jason held his gaze, and Luke finally dropped his hands to his sides.

"We're still not done!" he shouted to Annabeth, then flipped off the crowd. He stormed out of the pavilion down to the parking lot.

"Percy, are you okay?" Jason asked, rushing over to his best friend once Luke was out of sight.

Percy had just used the wall to haul himself upright, and he was spitting blood out of his mouth.

"I'm fine," he said, then promptly fell to his hands and knees.

"Step back, give him some space," Annabeth ordered, and the crowd that had been circling Percy retreated somewhat.

Jason helped Percy stand up.

"Come on. I'm taking you home," he said, draping Percy's arm over his shoulder to keep him upright.

"Hold on, hold on," Percy said, dropping to his knees again, holding his head in both hands.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked, getting down beside Percy.

"I-I dunno," Percy said, shaking his head, then wincing.

"Sit down," a calm girl's voice said. "Here."

Rachel helped Percy lean against the wall and placed an ice pack on his head.

"I knew someone was going to get hurt," she muttered, adjusting the bag of ice. "Of course it'd be you."

Percy was still dazed, so he just blinked at her. By now, the crowd had thinned out, and the party was back in full swing. He winced as the DJ turned up the music, and the bass started pounding.

"You should probably get home," Annabeth said, who had been kneeling by his side the whole time. "You need to rest somewhere quiet."

Percy nodded numbly. Together, Annabeth, Rachel, and Jason helped Percy to his feet and managed to get him back to Jason's car. As they approached the vehicle, they all gasped.

"My car!" Jason exclaimed despairingly, rushing to his Accord. Someone had keyed the whole left side, leaving ugly gashes in the doors.

Annabeth cursed, and Jason gave her a surprised look. "Damn Luke!" she exclaimed, frowning deeply. "He pulled this on me the day I broke up with him. And he wonders why I don't want to get back together!"

"I'm sorry," Rachel said, as they gently set Percy in the passenger seat and buckled him in. "I'll pay for the repairs, since it happened at my party."

"I couldn't let you do that," Jason waved the offer away. "I'm only going to be driving this for a few more months anyway, it's got 250,000 miles on it and I'm due for a new ride."

"Still-" Rachel insisted, but Jason shook his head.

"I won't hear of it," he said firmly, but kindly. Then, he started to get into the driver's side. "Thanks for inviting us to your party, Rachel. It was awesome. I'm sorry things got out of hand," he apologized, but she leaned down to give him a hug.

"No worries!" she said brightly. "That was the most interesting thing that's going to happen tonight anyway, so thanks!"

"Uh, no problem," Jason said confusedly, returning the hug. "Nice seeing you again, Annabeth."

"You too, Jason," Annabeth smiled. "I hope you feel better, Percy," she added, talking across the car. "Thanks for everything, again."

Percy nodded distractedly and gave a weak smile. "It was nothing. I'll call you sometime?"

Annabeth grinned. "Definitely."

After their goodbyes, Jason rolled out of the parking lot.

"I can't believe that Castellan guy," Jason shook his head. "All he ever does is cause trouble."

"Tell me about it," Percy groaned.

"How's your head?" Jason asked, glancing at Percy out of the corner of his eye.

Percy groaned again. "Just take me home, Jase."

Jason pressed a little harder on the gas pedal, still only going the speed limit.

"So, what are you doing this weekend?" Jason asked, trying to make sure Percy didn't fall asleep or pass out, which were sure signs of a concussion.

"I dunno. Sleep. Stay out of Gabe's way while he hosts a poker tournament," Percy made a face.

Jason's face brightened. "Why don't you come to church with me on Sunday? No, it'll be fun," he cut in, as Percy started protesting. "We're having a special music program, and you can meet Piper!"

Piper McLean was the girl who had started going to Jason's church several months ago. She went to an all-girls school in the next town. They had become good friends, and he was going to ask her out soon.

Percy sighed. "How long is it?"

Jason's face lit up hopefully. "Meet me at my house at eight. Church gets out at 12:30, but we'll stay for potluck, which'll probably be over around two."

"Alright. I guess it's better than staying at home with a bunch of drunk dudes."

"Sweet," Jason smiled, as he pulled into Percy's driveway.

Percy insisted on getting out of the car unassisted, but Jason made sure he got through the doorway before driving away.

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**A/N**

**Eeek! You guys are almost scaring me! Haha, I can NOT believe I have so many reviews!:D and 3****,****000+ views? It's totally overwhelming! ****I love you all!:)**

**To the sweetheart guest reviewers who said such nice things (Misc. guests, ROFLcuzmyBFFfell, jane, 123456)****:**** thank you so much! I can't believe I'm actually somebody's favorite fanfiction author, and I actually wrote someone's favorite fanfic... Crazy:) All those reviews made my day every time I got one! I cannot thank you enough for all the support:D**

**To the reviewer that said "what the heck is wrong with you?" I just want to let you know I thought it was very rude, and I wish you had logged in so I could PM you and explain I hadn't written out the story yet, just started it. I'm writing it each week as I post.**

**Anyway, I hope that chapter lived up to your expectations:) More to come.**

**Also, I've been really bad about planning for sequels when I haven't finished the first story (Check out Royal Flush, my Outsiders fic), but I also have a sequel planned for this. ;D**

**Just wow. You're all amazing. Still totally awestruck that _I_ actually have _fans_. Review again?:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	7. Chapter 7

At precisely eight o'clock, Percy pulled up to the Grace residence. As he got out of the car, he saw Jason in the driveway, fussing over Rosie and Colin's outfits.

Jason spotted Percy, then tossed him a long blue strip of cloth.

"What's this for?" Percy asked.

Jason tapped his own black tie.

"Aww, can't I just wear this?" Percy gestured to his clean but slightly wrinkly black dress shirt that he had worn to Rachel's party on Friday.

"Just put it on."

Percy sighed, then fumbled with the tie for a moment, finally securing it correctly.

Jason had finished tying Colin's shoes and turned to check Percy over.

"Nuh-uh," he said, tightening Percy's tie to secure it closer to his neck. "You're going to church, not playing in a band."

Percy coughed. "You're choking me!"

"Oh, grow up," Jason dismissed, also rolling down Percy's sleeves. "See, look, even Colin can wear his tie properly!"

At that, Colin decided to mimic Percy. "It's choking me! I can't bweathe!" he squealed, running around the yard.

Jason rolled his eyes and tried to get the wrinkles out of Percy's shirt, while Percy snickered and pulled his worn leather jacket on.

"Eh, not bad," Jason said, stepping back to examine him. He reached over to brush some dirt off Percy's jacket. "The jacket even adds character."

"Wonderful."

"Are we ready to go?" Mr. Grace asked, his deep voice thundering out.

"Yeah," Jason nodded, catching Colin by the arm and pulling him towards the car. Everyone piled into the Grace's van, and Mr. Grace pulled up to the church fifteen minutes later.

A well-dressed man greeted them with handshakes at the door, but the second glance he gave Percy made him want to fix his tie and comb his hair again.

"I'm gonna go take Rosie and Colin to their Sunday School room," Jason told Percy. "I'm teaching the adult's lesson today, so you can either sit in there or go to the teen class. I'd recommend the teen class, though, it's more fun.

Percy nodded distractedly, looking around. "I'll go to the teen class."

"You need help finding it?" Jason asked. "It's just down those stairs in the hallway. First door on the left."

"Got it," Percy said, and headed in that direction.

A group of girls passed him on the stairs, and they both gave him strange looks. Percy was suddenly very aware of the bruise that Luke had left on his cheek, his dirty sneakers, and his wrinkled shirt. He hastily tried to smooth himself out, but the girls flounced past him and into the first door on the left.

Percy frowned. He could tell those girls had been judging him, and it made him feel bad. He was feeling more and more out of place with every second that passed.

He spied an _Exit_ door at the end of the hallway, and passed the door to the teen class and headed for that one instead.

He stepped outside into the cool air, and dug a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He quickly lit one and took a long drag.

Percy wasn't sure why he felt so uncomfortable. It couldn't be that he cared what those girls or that man thought; he never cared about what others thought of him. It also wasn't the church itself, since his mom used to take him at least once a month, though to a different church.

He exhaled the smoke and sat down on the concrete steps, and waited there until nine o'clock, when a bell rang and he figured class must be over.

When he stepped back inside, he slipped into the crowd of teens emerging from the classroom and walked up the stairs with them.

When he saw the door to the adult classroom was still closed, he leaned against a wall to wait for Jason.

Suddenly, Percy's chest spasmed, and he doubled over in a violent coughing fit. When his breathing had evened out, he glanced at his hand to see it speckled with bright red blood again.

He stared at his palm for a moment, not noticing the adult class had gotten out and Jason was walking towards him.

"How'd it- oh, man, did you cut yourself?" Jason asked, grabbing at Percy's hand.

Percy pulled away and hastily wiped his palm on his jeans. "Yeah, don't worry, it's just a little scratch," he said dismissively, and thankfully Jason dropped it.

"So, how was the teen class?" he asked, pulling his friend out of the crowd.

"Good," Percy lied. "They talked about Jesus."

Jason laughed. "I figured they would- wait. Have you been smoking?"

Percy pretended to give him a confused look. "Just this morning, why?"

Jason sniffed the air. "Oh, never mind. I smell cigarette smoke, but it's probably just one of the other kids. Some of them skip class and go outside to smoke; can you believe that?"

Percy shook his head. "That's terrible."

"Isn't it?" Jason snorted, scanning the crowd of teens. "Oh, there's Piper! Let me introduce you," he said, grabbing Percy's wrist and pulling him through the crowd.

"Piper!" Jason exclaimed, wrapping her in a hug. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Percy Jackson; he goes to my school."

"Welcome!" she said, reaching over and giving Percy a hug as well. "I've heard a lot about you."

Percy was caught off-guard by the hug, but at Jason's pointed look he returned it. "I've heard a lot about you, too."

Percy_ had _heard a lot about Piper, but Jason hadn't done justice to describing her beauty. She was, by far, the prettiest girl Percy had ever seen, aside from maybe Annabeth. She had thick, choppy, long brown hair that was in several braids, and her eyes were the color of warm cocoa. Once Percy started looking at her, it was hard for him to look away.

"You look incredible, Piper," Jason complimented.

"Really? Thanks," Piper blushed, and looked at the ground like she didn't quite believe him, which Percy found strange.

"How are you?" Jason asked.

"Nervous for my choir solo," Piper confessed, then suddenly gasped. "I can't believe it- I forgot to bring something red to wear!"

"What for?" Percy asked, not knowing the situation but wanting to fix it for her. She really was _breathtaking._

"Everyone in the choir is supposed to be wearing black," she gestured to her dress, "and a little bit of red, for color, but I forgot my scarf!"

Jason snapped his fingers. "Stay right there, don't move," he said, rushing off. He came back less than a minute later, holding a bouquet of red carnations.

"These were for after your solo," Jason explained, pulling a bobby pin out of Piper's hair, "but I guess I can give them to you early."

He plucked one flower out of the bouquet and slipped the stem through the bobby pin. Then, he pinned the new accessory back in Piper's hair.

"How's it look?" she asked Percy, turning towards him.

"Beautiful," Percy answered, because that was the only word that came to mind.

Piper turned back towards Jason and hugged him. "You're the best!" she smiled, and Jason looked extremely pleased with himself.

"No problem," he said. "These will be waiting for you when you're finished," he held up the bouquet again. "Now it's time for you to go up there and sing your heart out! Don't be nervous, you'll do great."

"Thanks," Piper smiled. "I'll see you guys after the service!"

Percy and Jason both waved as she ducked into a back room to join the choir.

Percy turned and punched Jason in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Jason asked, rubbing the spot he had hit.

"You didn't tell me she was_ that _hot!" Percy exclaimed. "I would have told you to go for her sooner if I had known!"

"First of all, that's shallow," Jason frowned. "She's really nice, too. Second of all, she's_ beautiful_- not _hot_; that's degrading."

"Whatever," Percy said. "Hot or beautiful, either way you've gotten lucky."

"Haven't I, though?" Jason sighed happily. "Come on, we have to get into the sanctuary. If we're late, the deacons will yell at us."

Percy followed Jason through the swinging doors, where they sat on the right row of pews, with Percy on the left end and Jason next to him with Rosie and Colin, who were on their best behavior.

Percy glanced around the church. There was a huge stained glass window in front of him depicting a cross, and candles were burning on the table at the front. He looked up and down the pews, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw a familiar face sitting across from him.

_No, _he decided._ Piper isn't the prettiest girl I've ever seen._

Annabeth's eyes met his, and her jaw dropped for a split second before her face broke into a delighted smile.

Percy rose to greet her, but felt himself be pulled back down.

"What the-?" he asked, but Jason shushed him.

"The service is starting, you guys can talk later- the Chases usually stay for potluck."

Percy frowned and slumped into his seat.

Suddenly, the congregation rose, and started singing a song Percy didn't recognize. He remembered a trick his grandpa had told him when he was little, which was whenever you didn't know the words to a song, you just mouth the words, "watermelon, cantaloupe," and it looks like you're singing it right.

Percy tried it now, earning a subtle thumbs up from Jason.

When the song was over, the congregation sat back down. The man who had given Percy a dirty look at the door stepped up to read a Bible verse, then two deacons walked down the aisles holding offering plates.

When the deacon reached their aisle, Percy couldn't help but notice how the deacon raised his eyebrows when everyone in his row put a few dollars in the plate except him. He blushed and stared at the toes of his scuffed shoes as even Rosie and Colin dropped their coins in.

As the service continued, Percy glanced around the pews. He could see Annabeth, sitting tall with her legs crossed; Piper sitting with the choir with her perfect posture, hands folded on her lap, ankles crossed and listening attentively; and Jason right beside him, sitting up straight. Percy's eyebrows knitted confusedly, and he slowly leaned back and straightened up to copy the other's posture.

He coughed and tugged at his tie. Jason saw this out of the corner of his eye and elbowed him softly. Percy's hands dropped back to his sides.

The choir soon got up to sing, and Piper looked radiant as she led the choir with her solo. Percy found himself captivated, and was hanging on to her every word. Piper commanded the attention of the congregation, and Percy was extremely disappointed when she began her final note.

As she finished, Percy started clapping loudly. He was confused when the row in front of him turned around to give him scolding looks, then his confusion turned to embarrassment when Jason caught his eye and gave a slight shake of his head.

"Amen," echoed throughout the congregation, and the man on the platform gave Percy a pointed look.

Percy mumbled an "amen," to the ground, and was silent for the rest of the service.

When the sermon was over, the congregation stood once more to sing another song, and Percy used his "watermelon, cantaloupe" trick again.

The crowd shuffled out of the sanctuary and into the fellowship hall. Jason led Percy to a far corner table, while Mr. and Mrs. Grace took Rosie and Colin to another table, and they sat down.

Another sharply dressed man came up to them.

"Hello, Jason, how are you?" he asked, shaking Jason's hand.

"I'm good, thanks Pastor Tony," Jason smiled.

"Who's your friend?" Pastor Tony asked, looking at Percy.

Jason's face froze. "This is Percy Jackson. You haven't met?"

"No, thank you for introducing me," Pastor Tony smiled. "Nice to meet you, Percy. I'm the youth pastor here, and I teach the teen Sunday School class. I hope you'll join us there the next time you visit. It's kind of a small group, but we have a lot of fun."

Percy just nodded, silently cursing himself.

"I hope to see you again," the Pastor smiled, then drifted off to socialize.

"Percy?" Jason asked, looking confused and a little bit hurt. "I thought you told me you went to the class?"

Percy was saved from having to explain, because at that moment Piper came up to their table.

"Piper!" Jason exclaimed, handing her the bouquet of flowers from off the table. "You were amazing."

"It was incredible," Percy agreed, and Piper smiled at them.

"Thanks," she said with a small laugh, like she thought they were being sarcastic. "Oh, Jason, guess what?"

"Hmm?" he asked, leaning forward so he looking interested.

"My Dad's back!" Piper said, reaching out and straightening Jason's already faultless tie. "You can finally meet him!"

Jason suddenly looked nervous, and leaned back. "Oh, that's great!" he replied, glancing around. "So how soon do we have to- uh, I mean, how soon until we get together?"

"We're having Dad's promotion party next weekend, you should come then," she answered.

Jason looked flustered. "Great. Perfect! That'll be fine. Yeah," he said with false enthusiasm.

Percy was confused, as Piper turned towards him. "You're welcome to come too, Percy," she said graciously. "I'm going to invite everyone from the church, so there'll be lots of people your age."

Percy was about to decline, but Jason looked at him pleadingly._ Why is it that I can never say no to him? _he wondered.

He turned his head shake into a nod, and smiled. "Oh, sure. I'll be there."

Piper beamed at him. "Wonderful!" She then glanced back at another group of girls. "Oh, I need to go, I'm going to sit with the girls from my school. See you guys later!" she said, giving Jason a peck on the cheek. She rubbed her lipstick smear off him with her thumb before rushing away.

Jason still looked uncomfortable.

"Okay, what was that all about?" Percy asked.

Jason sighed worriedly. "I haven't met her dad yet."

"So?"

"So, her dad is very traditional! I'm supposed to ask her dad if I can date her before I ask _her,_ and in order for him to say yes he has to_ like _me! What if he doesn't?! Then Piper will _hate_ me!" he said, wringing his hands.

Percy burst out laughing, causing several old ladies to glare at him sternly.

He quieted his laugh to a soft giggle, and Jason stared at him perplexedly.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Are you serious? _That's_ what you're worried about?" Percy asked incredulously.

Jason nodded emphatically.

"Dude, everyone loves you! _Especially _stuffy old rich people! You'll be_ fine_," Percy assured him.

"Well, just in case," Jason said sheepishly. "Come with me. I'm terrified."

Percy shrugged. "Eh, as long as there's food, I'm in."

"Who's this handsome young man?" an old lady who came shuffling up to their table asked Jason, examining Percy and speaking much louder than normal.

Percy's face immediately became annoyed, but Jason gave him a quick, hard stare.

"This is my friend, Percy Jackson," Jason introduced politely, speaking nearly as loudly. Percy figured she was pretty hard of hearing. "How are you, Mrs. Atropos?"

"Just fine, dear, thank you," she smiled. "Dorothy! Evelyn!" she screeched to another table. "Come over here, we're going to sit with these good-looking boys!"

Two other old ladies came up, one with a walker, and Percy fought the urge to shiver while Jason tried not to laugh. Old people creeped him out, and Jason knew it.

"This is Ms. Clotho, and Mrs. Lachesis," Jason told Percy. "They're on the charity committee."

"We take donations from the community and give them to the needy!" Mrs. Lachesis croaked at Percy. "You poor dear. Would you like to look through the donation box before you leave today?"

"Excuse me?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Your jacket is so worn, poor baby, you must be freezing," Ms. Clotho added, gesturing to Percy's comfortable leather jacket, and Jason's eyebrows shot up and his mouth formed a small "O."

"No, Ms. Clotho, that's the style-" Jason tried to explain, but Mrs. Atropos cut him off.

"The child is obviously poor and needy!" she said, speaking loudly again, but this time the whole room went quiet. "Look at his dirty shoes, and his messy appearance! Why, even that black eye. The miserable dear is probably involved in a gang! And, was I the only one that noticed he didn't have a dollar to spare for Jesus?"

Percy heard Piper gasp from across the room.

"I think you need to turn your hearing aids up," Jason said quietly to the old woman, but she glared at him.

"Shame on you for dragging this impoverished youth to a place he obviously doesn't belong," she scolded, not lowering her voice. "Don't you know how much he stands out? Why did you bring him to the church service, and not to the soup kitchens we have?"

The rest of the room was silent enough to hear a pin drop. Finally, the man that had given Percy a judgmental look when he first walked into the church spoke up.

_"Amen."_

Percy shoved his chair backwards from the table and stood up. He could feel his cheeks burning, and his chest felt tight.

"I- I'm not," he tried to say, but Mrs. Atropos started speaking over him.

"Jason Grace, you should be ashamed of yourself," she admonished, nearly shouting, the whole room still listening. "On top of all that, the pitiful vagabond is as uneducated as a-"

"That's_ enough_," Jason said loudly, standing as well and walking around the table to stand next to Percy. "We're going to be leaving now. I think it'd do you some good to read John 7:24. Have a nice day, Mrs. Atropos," he said, struggling to keep his voice even as he steered Percy by the shoulders towards the door.

Mr. and Mrs. Grace stood up immediately as well, with Rosie and Colin following close behind.

Annabeth eyes were stormy as she headed towards the table of confused old ladies, with Piper right behind her.

Percy could feel his entire face burning with shame, but he bit his lip hard to avoid showing any emotion.

The car ride back to Jason's house was silent, and by the time they pulled into the driveway, Percy was ready to crawl under a rock and die.

Mr. and Mrs. Grace could tell Jason wanted to talk to Percy alone, so they quickly brought Rosie and Colin into the house, promising them candy to get them out of the way faster.

Jason rubbed his temples hard. "I don't even know what to say, Perce. That was..."

"Awful," Percy shook his head, still feeling the sting of every stare he had gotten, and of every word Mrs. Atropos had said.

"I'm so sorry," Jason said. "Those women... They're head of the Fates Fellowship organization, and I will tell you that they're the most judgmental people I've ever met. The guy who was agreeing with Mrs. Atropos, Ron Terminus, is the most judgmental."

Percy shrugged. "It's okay. I don't care."

"_I_ do," Jason frowned. "I'll understand if you never want to come back, but just know that not everyone there is like that. They're the exception."

"I get it," Percy nodded. "I'm okay, really. It wasn't that big of a deal."

Jason still looked upset. "I'm so sorry," he said again.

"I'm_ fine_," Percy insisted. "I think I'm gonna head home now, though; I'm kind of tired."

"Alright," Jason said hesitantly. "See you tomorrow?"

"See you," Percy waved, then hopped into his own car.

Percy made sure he had rounded the corner out of Jason's neighborhood and was far out of sight before he started crying.

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**A/N**

**Hope you guys liked this chapter! I hope it wasn't too slow... I needed to introduce Piper, and start a hidden ball rolling. (Lol, 10 points if you can guess what ball that is! Hint: Count: 3)**

**I have to say, though: Ron Terminus is based off of someone (an **_**adult**_**, whereas**_** I'm **_**only 16) I know in real life. Lol, he judges me every week, but that's okay because I'll just keep praying for him! **

**And, to be clear- I am NOT bashing church! I think it's very good to go to church, I just wanted to put this in here to show how the adults look down on Percy:)**

**Also, I'm personally a Seventh-Day Adventist, and I go to church on Saturday, so I hope I got the Sunday church thing right. Lol, for example SDA's call it Sabbath School, not Sunday School, but yeah... And I don't know about other churches potlucks, but most SDA churches have it every Saturday:)**

**(John 7:24, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.") :)**

**To the anonymous guest reviewers and ROFLcuzmyBFFfell again- you guys are so sweet:) I appreciate all your reviews, and thanks so much for reading!:)**

**Please review and tell me what you thought:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	8. Chapter 8

Officer Poseidon was sitting at his desk, checking his email. He smiled when he saw one from his mom, and immediately clicked on it.

Poseidon had grown up in the care of his foster mother, Melani Telchine, after his parents were deemed unfit. His father, Cornelius, had had several mental disorders and suffered a mental breakdown. He was institutionalized, while his birth mother, Rhea, became a heavy alcoholic.

When he was six, a neighbor found out about the situation and called the police. The court decided to place Poseidon in a foster home, and he'd went to live with Melani.

Poseidon had grown up happy, since his foster mother was as sweet as could be. She took good care of him, and inspired him to want to help other people. She encouraged him all through his training at the police academy, and couldn't have been prouder when he graduated.

The email from her was a regular thing; Poseidon still called her about once a week, and the rest of the time they sent emails back and forth.

Just as he finished writing his reply, his radio crackled, calling him in.

"Officer Neptune, reporting," he spoke into the microphone.

"Robbery on West Main Street, all cops within the area are required to report."

"On it," Poseidon said into the speaker, before rising and strapping on his pistol.

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Percy woke up early on Monday morning, not having gotten much sleep the night before. He could still hear the old women's words ringing in his ears, and as much as he hated to admit it, they hurt.

He dragged himself out of bed, shivering. The November wind seemed to force its way through every crack in the house, and the temperature inside was only marginally warmer than the outside.

Percy pulled on a pair of jeans, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He finished dressing, and went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face.

He was relieved to see that the black eye Luke had left was finally fading, and smiled at himself in the mirror after brushing his teeth.

Percy glanced at the clock on the wall, making sure he wasn't late for school. He couldn't afford another detention, which would require a parent-teacher conference. He couldn't imagine Gabe being too happy at having to go to one.

Percy grabbed his backpack and decided to skip breakfast, not wanting to miss the bus. He closed the front door behind him, and it only creaked slightly on its hinges. Percy had done a good job of repairing it from the time Gabe slammed it down.

He hopped on the bus just before it pulled away, and took his usual seat in the back. The ride was uneventful, and soon Percy was walking through the doors of Goode High.

Percy immediately headed to his locker, and was confused to see a green post-it note stuck to the front. He pulled it off and read the message:

_Do you have a secret?_

"What the hell..." Percy muttered, flipping the note over. There was no more to the message, but when he stared at the words again he moved his thumb to reveal a personalization on the note: the initials _R. E. D._

Percy crunched the note into a ball and tossed it into a corner, then retrieved his books and shut his locker.

The rest of the day, he found more cryptic messages stuck to his locker, such as:

_Stay away from necklaces._

and:

_Don't touch the bat._

Percy finally caught up with Rachel at the end of the day.

"What's with these?" he asked, waving the most recent note in front of her face.

Rachel gave him a blank stare. "That's stuff you need to know."

"What for?" Percy asked.

"What's your secret?" Rachel asked suddenly, and Percy frowned.

"I don't have one."

"Everyone has a secret," Rachel said pointedly.

"What's yours, then?" Percy asked, starting to get annoyed.

"It's a secret."

"If you get to keep_ your _secret, why do I have to tell you _mine?" _Percy questioned.

"Because_ my _secret isn't hurting me," Rachel stated, as her green eyes suddenly swirled like psychedelic pinwheels, and Percy froze.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked warily, worried that she had somehow found out about Gabe's abusive habits.

Rachel's eyes snapped back to normal. "No clue," she shrugged. "I just think you have a secret. It's cool if you don't wanna tell me, though."

"I don't have a secret," Percy insisted, "but if I did I probably wouldn't tell you."

"Suit yourself," Rachel said brightly, turning away. "Oh, and Perseus?"

"What?" Percy asked.

"Make sure you look both ways."

Percy stared after her until she rounded a corner out of sight.

"Is she your girlfriend?" a voice asked behind him. Percy turned to see Annabeth, with a strange expression on her face. The question reminded him of the time he had met her, when Rosie asked the same question.

"Oh, hey, wise girl," he smiled. "No, she's not my girlfriend. Just a sort-of friend."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed slightly. "She talks about you all the time," she mentioned, sounding casual enough that Percy missed the bitter undertone.

"She's weird like that, isn't she?" Percy said, and Annabeth brightened considerably.

"Yeah, she is," Annabeth agreed.

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After school that day, Jason invited Percy over to his house.

"You wanna take a walk?" Jason asked. "It's probably going to be the last nice day of the year, and Rosie and Colin are dying to go outside."

"Alright," Percy agreed, and the two of them bundled Rosie and Colin up for their outing.

"Lookit this," Rosie said to Percy, tugging at her jacket zipper, which was soft and pillow-like. "It's puffy!"

"It is," Percy agreed, grabbing the zipper from her and zipping her jacket. "And it's very pretty and sparkly

Rosie and Colin raced out the door and started skipping ahead of Jason and Percy.

"Not too far!" Jason called to them, and the kids slowed down a bit.

"Hey Jason?" Percy asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Hmm?" Jason responded, doing the same but slouching much less.

"How well do you know Rachel?" Percy questioned.

"Rachel Dare?" Jason asked, raising his eyebrows. "We've talked a few times before she invited us to her party. She's..."

"A nutcase?" Percy supplied helpfully.

Jason frowned at him. "I was going to say 'a unique individual.'"

"Oh."

"She's always winning art contests at school," Jason went on. "I think she has an over-active imagination, because we have history class and she's always spacing out and blurting out random opinions. Like, yesterday when we were discussing Ancient Rome, she said she thought that if the Romans took sides in the Civil War, they'd be Confederates."

"Sounds about right," Percy muttered.

"Oh, and she takes a lot of vacation time, since her father is a huge developer of land," Jason added as an afterthought.

"So she's rich?" Percy asked, thinking of her paint-splattered jeans and dirty sneakers.

"She's _well-off_," Jason corrected. "She lives in the Golden Falls subdivision, which is pretty exclusive."

"Wow."

"It's a nice house, more of a mansion, really," Jason commented. "Anyway, why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," Percy shrugged.

"You like her or something?" Jason grinned.

"No way!" Percy protested. "She's weird."

"She's smart and pretty, too," Jason added.

Percy frowned, thinking of Annabeth. "She's not my type."

"Who is?" Jason asked.

"Do you know if Annabeth Chase has a boyfriend?" Percy blurted out.

Jason immediately started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Percy demanded, feeling his cheeks going red.

"I don't know what school you're going to, man, but most of the guys are too afraid of her to ask her out," Jason snorted.

"Not Luke," Percy mumbled.

"Well, yeah, other than him," Jason agreed. "But you really like Annabeth?"

Percy shrugged. "I think so. I dunno. Maybe. Yes."

Jason grinned. "Sounds like a yes to me."

Percy's thoughts were consumed with Annabeth as they walked past a house, with an older man sitting on a rocking chair on the porch.

Percy glanced over, realizing he recognized him; Andro Tasia, owner of one of the shops on Main Street. He was a grumpy old man, who disliked children, and strongly disliked teenagers. He had a special hatred for Percy, though, who he thought was a hoodlum, and the feeling was mutual.

Percy's face immediately became annoyed when he saw Mr. Tasia glaring at him. Remembering the judgmental people at church, Percy leaned down and plucked a dandelion growing through the sidewalk cracks. He grinned and blew it onto Mr. Tasia's lawn.

Mr. Tasia immediately stood up and started yelling obscenities at Percy, shaking his cane at him.

"Sorry, Mr. Tasia, he didn't mean it!" Jason called, grabbing a laughing Percy by the arm and dragging him away as quickly as possible.

The curse words soon faded behind them, and Rosie and Colin had stopped to let them catch up.

"What was that for, Perce?" Jason asked.

"He had it coming to him," Percy said stubbornly.

Jason sighed. "Mr. Tasia is a nice old man."

"A nice old man who hates me," Percy added.

"Maybe there's a reason," Jason pointed out. "No, Colin, don't!"

Jason quickly leaned down and snatched the dandelion Colin had been about to blow into another neighbor's lawn.

"Look what you did," Jason frowned. "You're setting a bad example!"

Percy laughed, but turned to Colin. "You shouldn't blow dandelions on people's lawns, it makes weeds grow," he explained, then lowered his voice. "Only do it to Mr. Tasia."

Colin grinned and nodded.

They group walked the rest of the way to the park, and after stopping to push the kids on the swings for a while, returned to Jason's house.

On the way back, Jason and Percy chatted about school and sports, but Percy's mind was still on Annabeth.

They reached Jason's block, and several houses down they could see Mr. and Mrs. Grace sitting on their front porch, drinking coffee.

Colin giggled and pulled Jason ahead. "Look! Mommy!" he said excitedly.

Percy crossed the street after them, but suddenly he had a strange feeling. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. He took in Colin and Jason laughing and running ahead, but that didn't seem to be the source of his trepidation.

He turned back towards the road and saw a car speeding around the corner. His eyes fell on Rosie, still infatuated with her puffy jacket zipper, oblivious, and his heart stopped.

Time resumed. Percy yelled, crossing the street in two big leaps and ran into the path of the green sedan. He shoved Rosie backwards onto the grass and heard a squeal of brakes as he felt the car's fender collide into his right leg.

The force of the blow knocked him over, and he landed hard on the asphalt.

The green sedan screeched to a halt, and immediately a well-dressed businesswoman ran to Percy's side.

"Oh my goodness, kid, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you guys there!" she said, fumbling to help Percy up. "Are you alright? Jeez, I'm so sorry!"

Jason, who had heard the noise, was now running to the scene along with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Grace immediately ran to Rosie while Jason helped Percy to his feet.

"Uh, actually, I'm okay guys." Percy said, standing easily. "You barely hit me. I'm fine."

The businesswoman still looked flustered.

"I'm so sorry, kid," she said again, running her hands through her hair. "I honestly didn't see you."

"I'm fine," Percy insisted again. "Really, it's no big deal."

The woman still looked flustered. "Here, take my card," she said, pulling a wallet out of her purse and slipping a small business card out of one of the flaps. "My name is Nikole, Nikole Themis. Don't hesitate to call me if you need to go to the hospital because of this later on."

"I'll be okay" Percy repeated, but took the card anyway. He glanced down and noted that it read, "Nikole Themis, Attorney at Law."

"I've got to get going," Nicole said. "Again, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Percy shrugged.

"Have a nice day," Jason added, and Nikole nodded at them and got back in her car.

"How can we thank you enough?" Mr. Grace said, holding his hand out for Percy to shake as soon as Nikole had driven away. "You saved Rosie."

"It was nothing," Percy insisted, feeling uncomfortable with the hero-worship. "Really."

Just then, Rosie, who had been crying, came up to Percy and hugged him around the knees.

"Pwince Pewcy saved me again."

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**A/N**

**Hope you liked it:) Thanks for reading!**

**Well, I lost a bunch of followers last chapter for "Bible thumping," so if you're still reading, thank you:)**

**And to ROFLcuzmyBFFfell and the other guests- you're awesome, lol, thanks for all your reviews:) Love you!**

**Also, you all should read up on how Poseidon was raised, it's fascinating:) And, just sp you know, there's a reason I picked every name ;)**

**Anyway, I figured I'd start warning you now: I know that during the summer most people update their stories more often, but I got a full-time job at a summer camp, working in the kitchen. That job is from 6AM to 10PM, and the camp is in the woods with very sketchy Internet service.**

**The reason I say this is because that means I won't have time to write while I'm working:'( So sorry, but my last update will be on May 25th.**

**That doesn't mean I'm giving up on the story, though! I shall return, hopefully, on August 3rd, with regular updates:)**

**So yeah. Again, thanks for reading:) Please review!**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	9. Chapter 9

On Friday, Percy pulled another lime green sticky note off his locker:

_Fill 'er up_

"What the hell..." Percy muttered, which was quickly becoming his standard response to the notes.

Jason walked up just as he crumpled the note into a ball and dropped it into his backpack.

"This is for tomorrow," Jason announced, holding up some article of clothing wrapped in plastic on a hanger. "We're the same size, so I thought I'd just let you borrow one of mine instead of renting one."

"What is it?" Percy asked, as Jason handed him the plastic-wrapped hangar.

"You're going to need to dress up for Piper's Dad's promotion party," Jason said apologetically.

"What? You mean fancier than for church?" Percy asked incredulously, peeking past the plastic and seeing a suit jacket.

"Sorry," Jason shrugged.

"You owe me," Percy sighed, draping the jacket over his arm.

"I'll make it up to you," Jason grinned.

"That's what you always say," Percy grumbled, slamming his locker shut.

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The next day, an hour before the party, Percy glanced in the mirror and raised his eyebrows.

_I look good._

The black suit jacket fit like it was tailor-made for him, and the dark blue shirt he was wearing underneath added a pop of color. His black tie gave the whole look a mysterious feel, like he was some sort of secret agent.

He straightened himself up and brushed his shoulders off one last time, before shrugging the jacket off and draping it over his arm. He flicked the bathroom light off and headed for the front door.

He froze before he even made it to the kitchen.

"Where are you, you lousy brat?" Gabe screamed, as Percy heard the front door crash open.

Gabe staggered through the kitchen and into the hallway, where Percy was standing.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Gabe sneered, grabbing Percy by his shirt collar and pinning him against the wall. Percy's chest tightened, and he couldn't help letting out a quiet whimper. He hated being slammed against the wall more than anything, yet it happened all too often.

"I'm going t-to a friend's house," Percy answered, doing his best to keep his voice from shaking.

Gabe slammed his hand around Percy's throat, pinning him against the wall more securely. Percy felt his fingers digging into his neck, and he could already feel the bruises forming.

"Like hell you are, dressed like that," Gabe scoffed. "Does wearing those clothes make you feel a little less worthless? Is that why you got dressed up, you piece of trash?"

"It's for a friend's Dad's promotion party-" Percy began, but he was cut off with a hard slap across the face.

"Liar," Gabe hissed. "You don't have friends."

Percy's cheek and eyes were stinging, and he involuntarily whimpered again as Gabe swung him across the hall to slam him into the opposite wall.

"You worthless piece of shit," Gabe scoffed, as he let Percy sink to the ground. "Fine, go and hang out with your so-called 'friends.' But don't come crying to me when they realize you're no-good and leave your sorry ass."

Gabe turned like he was about to leave, but then turned back towards Percy and kicked him as an afterthought.

"Have fun," Gabe laughed meanly, heading into his bedroom and slamming the door.

Percy groaned, his lungs and ribs aching. He coughed into the crook of his arm, but when he pulled away he couldn't tell if he had coughed up the blood or if it was from where Gabe's nails had pierced his skin.

Percy was grateful he hadn't been wearing Jason's jacket. He didn't want to have to explain any blood stains to his friend.

He staggered the kitchen to the sink to rinse the blood away, and was dismayed to see that Gabe had once again broken down the door.

_I'll fix it when I get back,_ he thought to himself, glancing at the clock on the wall and realizing it was almost three.

He pulled on his suit coat and rushed out the door frame to Gabe's car.

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_Ugh, rich people,_ was Percy's first thought as he drove up to the McLean mansion. He parked behind a long row of expensive cars, and headed for the door everyone else was walking through. He quickly spotted Jason, and headed over.

"Percy! What... The..." Jason's jaw dropped, and he nearly dropped his drink when his best friend walked up. "_What the_?"

Percy realized he was probably a mess. He hadn't gotten a chance to look in the mirror after Gabe had gotten him, and he was sure he looked disheveled to say the least.

"Was it Gabe again?" Jason hissed in a low, angry voice. "Because, I swear-"

"No, it wasn't," Percy lied quickly.

"Who then?" Jason asked, stepping closer and turning Percy's shirt collar out to examine the finger-shaped bruises on his neck.

Percy flinched back, not wanting Jason to get a chance to see the extent of the damage.

"Luke," he answered, the first name that popped into his mind.

Jason's electric blue eyes hardened into steel. "I'm going to kill him!"

"I took care of it already," Percy frowned. "I can fight my own battles, Jase."

Jason ran a hand through his hair, a gesture Percy guessed he had been repeating all afternoon by the state of it. "I know. Just, try and control yourself more, okay? I know it was probably his fault, too," Jason said quickly, though Percy hasn't been about to protest. "But try anyway. I know your mom always hated it when you got into fights."

"It used to happen a lot less often," Percy murmured, as Piper walked up to them.

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, pulling a handkerchief out of her pocket. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Percy winced, as she wiped at a bleeding scratch on his neck.

"You look very nice, Percy," she complimented politely. "Like an undercover spy."

Percy grinned at that. "Thanks. You look really nice, too."

And in fact, she did. She was wearing a light blue party dress, which looked casual and comfortable. Her hair was down again, with little braids in it, and her face was bare of makeup.

Piper smiled the same smile she had given him at church; like she was grateful for the compliment, but didn't believe him.

"Thank you," she smiled at him. Then, she reached up and smoothed Jason's hair down. "Are you ready to meet my dad, Jason?"

"What? Right now?" Jason asked nervously, nearly dropping his drink again. He reached up to run his hand through his hair once more, but Piper stopped him.

"Yes, now," she smiled, straightening his tie. "Look, my dad's walking towards us! Come on, let me introduce you."

This time, Jason really did drop his drink.

The dark cola splashed down the front of his suit, and spilled onto Piper's white slippers.

"I'm so sorry!" he stammered, immediately reaching onto the table behind him for napkins. His hands clumsily knocked into another row of drinks, and they spilled like dominoes.

Jason sputtered more apologies as he tried to pick up some of the cups, but as he did so his elbow knocked against the punch bowl, which tipped off the table and shattered on the ground.

Percy quickly pulled Piper away from the glass shards, not wanting her to get cut.

The room was silent as Tristan McLean walked up to the teens.

"Ah, Piper, this must be the young man you told me about," Mr. McLean said, breaking the uncomfortable quiet as Jason hurriedly tried to clean up the mess.

Percy was very confused as Mr. McLean clapped him on the shoulder. "Nice to meet you, Jason. Piper's told me a lot about how well-put together, graceful, polite, and mature you are. My daughter's chosen well, I saw you try to save her from the broken glass, and-"

"Dad, no," Piper interrupted. "That's not Jason. He's a friend from school, Percy Jackson."

Mr. McLean's brow furrowed. "Oh, nice to meet you, Percy," he said, then turned back to his daughter. "Pipes, where's Jason?"

"I-_I'm_ Jason, sir," Jason said sheepishly, rising from the ground and holding out a punch-covered hand for him to shake.

Piper's Dad's eyebrows shot up as he looked the young man before him up and down. He went through his mental checklist: _Messy hair? Check. Sopping wet? Check. Covered in some sort of liquid? Check. Just caused a major disturbance at my party with his clumsiness? Check._

"Ah, I see," Mr. McLean said, hesitantly shaking Jason's hand. "Nice to meet you. Why don't you go get cleaned up, while I get someone to tidy up this mess?"

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry, sir," Jason apologized, blushing furiously as he headed for the bathroom.

"He won't be long," Piper promised her father, catching his disapproving stare after him.

"No worries," Mr. McLean smiled. "I'm sure Percy and I will have a nice chat_. He_ seems like a _very_ nice young man," he added pointedly, and for the first time, Percy saw Piper look annoyed as she stormed off after her almost-boyfriend.

Mr. McLean turned back to Percy. "So, son, tell me about yourself," he beamed. "What kind of grades do you make? Where do you live? Do you have a girlfriend?"

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Percy spent the next long while talking to Mr. McLean and answering his awkward questions. It seemed Piper wasn't able to convince Jason to return, when they weren't back after half an hour. Mr. McLean didn't even seem to notice his absence, and left Percy alone after a while to mingle with other party guests.

Percy headed for the bathroom, where he found Piper knocking on the door.

"Come on, darling, it wasn't _that_ bad," she called, tapping lightly and jiggling the handle. "It was an accident! I'm sure my dad would love to talk to you!"

"I'm sure he'd love to talk to _you_ about how you should stay away from me!" Jason moaned back. "I'm never going to be able to face him."

"He won't unlock the door," Piper sighed to Percy, when he gave her a questioning look.

"Jason, stop being a wuss," Percy said, moving Piper aside so he could knock more insistently.

"Leave me alone, Percy," Jason said stubbornly.

"Man up and come out here right this minute, or else!" Percy demanded, jiggling the handle hard.

"Or else_ what_?" Jason challenged.

"Or else I'm going to break down this door," Percy threatened, and Piper gasped. He winked at her and shook his head, gesturing for her to come closer.

"You wouldn't," Jason said.

"I would, too!" Percy promised, reaching toward Piper's hair and pulling a bobby pin out of it.

He bent it open until it snapped, and inserted both pieces into the keyhole.

"I dare you!" Jason said after a long pause.

"Okay, I'm coming in," Percy announced, as he felt a satisfying click. "One... Two... Three!"

Jason gasped as the door swung open.

"You didn't break it, did you?" he asked anxiously, examining the lock.

"No, dummy, I picked the lock," Percy frowned, holding up the broken bobby pin.

"You've gotta teach me to do that someday," Jason shook his head.

"Come on, Jason, will you give it another shot?" Piper asked persuasively. "You know you want to," she added, when he hesitated, and Jason suddenly had the strong urge to talk to Mr. McLean.

"You know what? I _do_ want to," Jason said confidently. "Lead the way, Pipes!"

Piper beamed, then led the two boys through the crowd.

As they walked through the clusters of people, Percy's heart nearly stopped when he spotted a familiar face. From Jason's expression, he had seen him too.

"What's_ he _doing here?" Jason asked Piper, pointing at Luke.

"His dad is a friend of my mother's," Piper answered. "He's here with his parents-_ hey_! Where are you going?"

Percy lingered behind, only going close enough to hear Jason angrily tell Luke, "I swear, if you touch my friend one more time, I am going to_ kill _you. Do you hear me, Castellan?"

Luke held up his hands and protested that he had no idea what Jason was talking about. After exchanging a few more sentences and realizing Luke had done nothing wrong, Jason turned to give Percy a confused look.

Jason frowned sadly when he realized his friend was gone.

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Percy had secretly slipped out, wanting to avoid the awkward situation he had created. His lie would have worked and Jason would have believed that it was Luke who beat him up if Luke hadn't actually been at the party.

Driving through town, he felt shame growing in the pit of his stomach. Why was he lying to Jason so much these days?

Suddenly, the car sputtered once, and Percy wildly checked the dashboard to see if anything was wrong.

"Oh, no no_ no_!" Percy said desperately, as he saw the fuel gage on_ Empty _and the car started to shudder. "No!"

He let the car glide to the shoulder, where it gave one last weak sputter, then died.

"Damn it!" Percy moaned. "Come on, don't do this!"

He tried several times to get the old car to start up, but the engine wouldn't turn over.

Percy sat still for a moment, then tried again.

Sputter.

_Sputter._

_Cough._

"Ugh," Percy groaned, leaning his head against his steering wheel. He suddenly remembered Rachel's sticky note.

_Fill 'er up._

_Damnit, Rachel, could you be more specific next time? _he thought to himself as he got out of the car and started walking home.

His car had broken down in the center of town, and his house was only a few miles away. There was a chilly breeze, and Percy wished he was wearing his leather jacket so he could turn up the collar.

Percy hadn't been walking long when a police car drove up beside him.

"Why are you always walking in the snow?" Officer Poseidon asked, leaning out of his window. Percy frowned, but didn't answer him. "Hop in, kid."

Percy strolled around the front of the car and climbed into the passenger's side.

"Thanks," he mumbled, not quite in the mood to talk.

"You headed home?" Poseidon asked, and Percy nodded.

"How's your friend from the hospital doing?" Poseidon asked.

"Jason? Oh, he's a lot better," Percy answered, feeling a pang in his chest as he thought of his friend. "Did you ever arrest that guy Apollo shot?"

Poseidon nodded. "That we did."

"Cool."

Silence for a moment.

"How's the homeschooling going?" Poseidon joked awkwardly, getting a small grin out of the teen.

"Alright, I guess."

Percy leaned his head to rest on the window. Poseidon stole a glance at him, and was shocked to see the ugly bruises around his neck.

"How did that happen?" Poseidon asked quietly, and Percy realized his mistake. He quickly sat up straight, and tilted his head down to cover most of the bruises.

"My friend and I were just messing around," Percy lied nonchalantly, then mentally cursed himself for lying again. "It got a little rough."

"Really?" Poseidon prompted.

Percy was silent.

"You know, Percy, if there's something going on, you can always go to the police," Poseidon said hesitantly.

"I'm fine," Percy insisted, feeling his stomach twisting into knots. Wild images flashed through his mind; the police arresting Gabe, his mom being evicted from the hospital since they couldn't pay, himself being tossed into a foster home. _No, _he decided. _There's no way I'm going to the police._

"Well, if anything ever does come up, you be sure to let me know, alright?" Poseidon said, after a long pause.

"Got it," Percy said. "You can let me out here," he said quickly, as they pulled into his neighborhood. The last thing he needed was for Poseidon to see the broken door.

"You sure?" Poseidon asked skeptically.

"Yeah, I don't want my parents to worry if I come home in a police car," Percy lied, trying to smile. "Thanks for the lift."

Poseidon immediately slowed as Percy reached for the door handle.

"No problem," the Officer said. "But, think about what I told you, okay?"

"Got it," Percy nodded, then slammed the door of the cruiser.

The chilly air made him shiver, and he shoved his hands into his pockets as he jogged down the road.

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Poseidon waited several minutes, watching until Percy turned and disappeared into a house at the end of the street.

Poseidon slowly drove down the road towards the house when he was sure Percy wasn't watching, stopping in front of it.

He frowned as he saw the front door hanging on by one hinge, swaying in the wind.

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**A/N**

**OMG. Like 125 reviews. Nearly 80 followers. Like 60 favorites. 6,000+ views. I cannot believe it. You guys are amazing:) **

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter... Things are about to get really interesting for Percy, I can promise you that XD**

**To ROFLcuzmyBFFfell- thanks for being the 100th reviewer XD You're awesome!:) To all the other guest reviewers- I love you all, thanks so much, you're amazing:)**

**Thanks so much for reading!:) (Lol, still can't believe people like this story so much XD) Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	10. Chapter 10

Percy avoided Jason all week, not wanting to talk about his lie. Jason tried to approach him several times, but Percy always ducked away. On Wednesday, he hid in the bathroom until he was sure he couldn't run into Jason in the hallway, then hurried towards his next class.

"Perseus?" a voice called, and Percy stopped.

The voice came from what he thought was an empty classroom, and he peered inside to see Rachel standing in front of a canvas.

"What?" Percy asked, stepping through the door. It was one of the extra art rooms, and Rachel was the only person inside.

"What do you think of this?" she asked beckoning him over.

Percy hesitantly walked up to her canvas. It was a view through a bedroom window, looking out at the ocean. On the windowsill was...

"That's my swim medal," Percy frowned, pointing at the gleaming gold circle.

"Is it?" Rachel asked.

"I won it last year when I was on the team," Percy said.

"Doesn't mean it's yours." Rachel sing-songed.

"Well it _is_ mine," Percy insisted, feeling annoyed.

"Yay! Then I was right again," Rachel smiled, looking smug, which added to Percy's annoyance.

"Right about what?" he asked, flipping his hair out of his eyes.

"You'll see," Rachel said, gazing around the room. "I just think that that's going to be your window soon."

"Well you're wrong," Percy said. "My house is nowhere near the ocean."

"Not _yet_," Rachel said mysteriously.

"What is up with all this creepy prediction stuff?" Percy suddenly demanded, and Rachel jumped. "How do you know all this stuff that happens? And how do you know so much about me?"

"I dunno what you're talking about," Rachel said, avoiding the question.

"Yes you do!" Percy said, stepping closer to her. "All this creepy stuff, how you knew the car was going to hit me, you knew my car was going to run out of gas, everything! It's crazy, I wanna know how you're doing it."

"I just know," Rachel said defensively. "It's like I see things, and they just happen! At least I'm telling you!"

"Could you tell me helpful things?" Percy glared. "Like what was up with the paintings you showed me when we first met? The whole 'in trouble with the law' thing, and the death?"

"I can't tell you," Rachel said, wide-eyed, turning to leave.

"Don't walk away from me, I want to know!" Percy said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back.

"Let go!" Rachel shouted, shoving Percy in the chest. He stumbled backwards into a row of easels, which toppled over each other. One knocked into a window, shattering it, and a few others hit the blackboard behind the teacher's desk, causing it to clatter to the ground.

Percy and Rachel stared at each other in shock, as a teacher shouted from down the hall.

"You can't afford to get detention," she said seriously.

"Damn right I can't," Percy agreed.

"Run," Rachel decided, grabbing Percy's hand and racing out of the room. As they bolted out, Vice Principle Dionysus appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Hey! What were you kids doing in there?" he demanded, walking towards them.

Percy and Rachel ignored him, sprinting down the hall and around the other corner. They heard the Vice Principle shout as he entered the classroom and saw the broken window, then heard his feet pounding after them.

"Quick, in here!" Percy hissed, grabbing Rachel's arm and throwing open a door in the hallway.

He pulled Rachel into the small, dark room, and shut the door behind them.

"Where are we?" Rachel whispered, and Percy heard her knock into something, which clattered noisily to the floor.

"Hold still," Percy whispered back. "This is the janitor's closet. I've been in here before, and there's a lot of stuff you can knock over."

"What were you doing in here before?" Rachel asked.

"You don't wanna know."

"Was it Drew Tanaka?"

"Oh, shut up," Percy blushed, glad the room was dark. It _had_ been Drew, but Percy had no idea how Rachel had guessed that.

He ignored her giggles and stepped up on his tiptoes to see out of the small window near the top of the door.

Dionysus ran past them, and Percy let out a small sigh of relief.

"He's gone," Percy said, reaching for the handle.

Suddenly, Rachel's hand darted through the darkness to grab Percy's wrist.

"Hold on," she said, her voice sounding strained. "Wait a couple minutes."

"Why?" Percy asked. His eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the darkness, and he could just barely make out the outline of her form.

"You'll want to see this," Rachel answered.

"See what?" Percy asked, getting the same annoyed feeling he always got when Rachel wasn't straight with him.

Rachel shushed him as two pairs of footsteps echoed through the hall. Percy stood on his tiptoes again, and his jaw dropped when he saw Luke and Annabeth together.

Annabeth was holding a stack of papers, so Luke must have caught her on her way to deliver something to the principal's office. They stopped in the hallway, as Luke seemed to be pleading with her.

"I don't want to go out with you again," Annabeth said, firmly but sadly. "Please stop asking me, I can't."

"Is there someone else?" Luke asked desperately, sounding close to tears.

Annabeth was silent.

"I know you like Jackson," Luke went on, his voice breaking. "I see the way you look at him."

Annabeth didn't say anything.

"I know," Luke continued. "I know, because you used to look at me like that."

"Luke," Annabeth said hesitantly, reaching her hand out.

Luke looked like he wanted more than anything to let himself be pulled into a hug, but he took a step back.

"You've made you choice," he shook his heads stepping backwards. "I have to get out of this place."

"Luke, wait!" Annabeth called after him, but he didn't stop running.

"Luke!" Annabeth called, then sighed sadly when he didn't stop.

She turned and headed for the principal's office.

"Holy crap," Percy muttered. "What was that all about?"

"She really does like you," Rachel, who had been listening at the keyhole since the window was too small for both of them to look out of, said almost wistfully.

"What?" Percy asked, taken aback. "Annabeth does? Really?"

Rachel clucked disapprovingly. "You are the most oblivious guy I've ever met."

"So she likes me?" Percy asked again hopefully.

"Yes, you dork," Rachel sighed.

Percy grinned, then glanced out the window again.

"They're gone, it's all clear," he said, reaching for the doorknob, but his hand was quickly swatted away again.

"Not yet!" Rachel hissed. "One more thing!"

"Really?" Percy asked skeptically. "What else could there possibly be- _ow_! Stop hitting me!"

"Then listen to me and step away from the door handle!" Rachel said exasperatedly. "I swear, all the time at the beach has turned your brain into seaweed. Oops!" she gasped, suddenly covering her mouth.

"What?" Percy asked.

"That wasn't my line!" Rachel said, cursing at herself. "Just forget I ever said you were a seaweed brain."

"But you didn't-"

"Darn it! I did it again," Rachel sighed. "Just, forget it."

"But I don't even know-"

"Forget it and pay attention!" Rachel snapped, grabbing Percy's chin and turning his head towards the window in the door.

"What the hell am I supposed to be watching for?" Percy grumbled.

"Be patient."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No. Now shut up and watch."

Percy sighed, and scanned the hallway for any sign of movement. There was nothing for about thirty seconds, and then...

"Jason?" Percy asked Rachel. "Is that what I'm supposed to be watching?"

"We'll see."

Percy rolled his eyes, but watched closely. Jason had just walked out of the office, and was clutching a folded piece of paper.

As Percy observed, Jason carefully unfolded the paper, and studied it intently. As he scanned whatever was written on it, his eyes suddenly got wide, and he clapped a hand over his mouth.

Jason backed into a wall, and slowly slid down it, shaking his head. Percy could see he was breathing hard, even from his distance.

"What is it?" Percy asked Rachel.

"What it what?" she asked.

"What's the paper?" Percy asked intently.

"How should I know? I can't even see!" Rachel pointed out.

"Oh, right," Percy said sheepishly. "Well, Jason just walked out of the Office with a paper in his hand. When he read it, he started flipping out."

"Is the paper yellow?" Rachel asked.

Percy glanced back at Jason's hand. "Yeah."

"Percy, seriously?" Rachel laughed softly in the darkness. "It must be his report card."

"Huh?"

"Really, have you ever even looked at your report cards?" Rachel asked. "They're yellow, and you get them at the office. I thought you'd at least have seen the copies they fax to your parents. Honestly, Perseus, you need to focus more on school."

"Oh, whatever," Percy huffed, then turned back to the window to watch Jason.

Jason ran his hands through his hair, then glanced at his watch. After carefully folding the paper back up, he got to his feet and disappeared down the hallway.

"Can we get out of here now?" Percy asked Rachel, and she nodded.

"That's it," she said, opening the door herself.

"Good," Percy said, making a face.

"Perseus?" Rachel called, when he made to walk away.

"What now?" he asked, turning back towards her.

"Two things," she answered. "First of all, it's safe to talk to Jason."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, cocking his head.

"He's not angry with you," Rachel continued. "He's going to let you lie for quite a while longer."

"Oh," Percy said, feeling ashamed as he remembered the lies he had told. "I guess I'll go talk to him, then. But I'm not going to be lying to him anymore."

"Don't be too sure," Rachel frowned, then rushed on before Percy could protest. "And the second thing- I know it's not going to happen, but I'm just going to do it so I can say I tried."

"What are you talk-" Percy tried to ask, but he was cut off when Rachel suddenly pressed her lips against his.

He was taken aback, but before he could decide whether to kiss her back or pull apart, she stepped away.

"What was that for?" Percy asked softly, his lips tingling.

"I tried," Rachel whispered, then shook her head. "Bye, Perseus."

Percy stood and watched her walk away.

He wondered if he should have gone after her.

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**A/N**

**Thanks for reading! What'd you think?:) BTW, this was written on a sleep-deprived caffeine high, so I hope it's okay lol XD**

**Again: Insane. 7,500+ views, 150+ reviews, nearly 90 followers, and nearly 70 favorites. You're all amazing:) I literally only wanted like 30 reviews, but all this made me so happy:)**

**To the guest reviewers: I love you all again, thank you for reviewing:)**

**To ROFLcuzmyBFFfell, I loved your long review, thank you so much:)**

**And finally, thanks again for reading! I'm so glad people actually like it:)**

**Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	11. Chapter 11

As the bell rang signaling the end of school, Percy turned and headed down the hall, determined to find Jason.

"Hey, Grace!" he called, spotting him at the entryway of the school, still staring at his report card.

Jason started, looking around for who was addressing him. Seeing it was Percy, he quickly wiped the back of his hand across his eyes and headed towards his friend.

"Percy," Jason smiled. "I've been trying to talk to you all week."

"I know, about that-" Percy started to apologize, but Jason held up his hand.

"I believe you. I don't care that Luke denied it," he said. "He told me he never beat you up, and you were a liar, but I know he's the one who did it, because you said so. But he just kept insisting you were lying to me. I, of course, told him you would never," Jason said pointedly, and guilt wrapped a cord around Percy's heart.

"Thanks," Percy choked out, and Jason smiled again.

"Don't thank me, of course I'm going to believe my best friend over a lying jerk any day," Jason assured him.

"I'd hope so," Percy tried to laugh, and thankfully it came out sounding natural.

"You wanna hang out then?" Jason asked. "We could go to your place and study for a bit, then go have some fun."

"No," Percy said quickly. He hadn't gotten around to fixing the door yet, and he was almost certain there were still some blood stains he hadn't bothered to clean. "Uh, Gabe has some buddies over. We don't wanna bother them," he lied, mentally cursing himself once more. "Lets go to your house instead."

"Sounds good," Jason said, and together he and Percy got into Jason's Accord and drove to the Grace residence.

They parked in the driveway, and Percy followed his friend into the house.

"Jason? Is that you?" Mr. Grace roared as soon as the door cracked open. "Come here _right now_!"

Jason's face paled, and he quickly headed for the kitchen, as Percy hesitantly lingered in the foyer. In all the years Percy had been friends with the Grace family, he'd never heard Mr. Grace sound like that. Sure, Jason had been scolded before, but never screamed at.

"What is t_his_?" Jason's dad roared, and Percy heard papers crinkling.

"I-I'm sorry," Jason stammered, but there was the sound of a fist slamming onto a counter.

"A minus in your Pre-Calculus class?" Mr. Grace said furiously. "That is completely _unacceptable_! Don't you want to be at the top of your class?"

"I still am," Jason said quietly. "I'm making top marks in every class."

"What's _this_ then?" Percy heard the papers rustling again. "You have a B plus in Art!"

"I-I'm not very good at art-" Jason apologized, but was cut off by a familiar smack.

_"Fix it!_" his dad shouted, and the sound of paper ripping was heard. Percy walked towards the kitchen and stopped in the doorway.

"I'm sorry," Jason said again. "I'll write an essay for Art class and get it back up to an A."

"You better," his dad said vehemently. "I don't want my son to be a failure. How are you supposed to get into Harvard if you don't keep your grades up and be valedictorian next year? No more going out until you have all A plusses on your report card. I'm so ashamed of y-"

"Dad, Percy's over," Jason interrupted softly, gesturing to his friend.

Mr. Grace immediately whirled around, and his angry face became passive.

"Hello, Percy," he said courteously, nodding at him. "Nice to see you again."

Then, he straightened his shirt and headed into his bedroom.

Jason sighed heavily and leaned his elbows on the counter, putting his head in his hands.

"That was rough," Percy frowned, reaching down and picking the pieces of Jason's report card off the floor. Percy held both sides together and looked over the grades:

English: A+

History: A+

Chemistry: A+

Pre-Calculus: A-

Speech: A+

Accounting: A+

Health: A+

Computer Applications: A+

Debate: A+

Spanish III: A+

Band: A+

Physical Education: A+

Civics: A+

Art: B+

GPA: 4.21

"Jason, what the hell?" Percy said. "Why are you taking all these classes?"

"It's the only way to get my Dad's approval," Jason laughed bitterly.

"Dude, that's like... Fourteen classes!" Percy said incredulously. "Plus, you're in Mathletes, president of the debate club, on the football team, head of the chess club, and taking college classes on the weekend! How are you doing this?"

Jason shrugged, still looking at the countertop.

"Jason, my mom would die of shock if I was doing this much work and bringing home these kind of grades," Percy said, lowering his voice. "Don't listen to your dad. That's crazy. Your GPA is not only the highest in the class, it's the highest in the school!"

Jason raised his eyes to look at Percy, revealing a red handprint on his cheek. "I dunno, man... It's still not good enough."

All the years Percy had known him, he thought he was weird for being a know-it-all goody two-shoes all the time, but now it was making sense. His parents were obviously putting way too much pressure on him to be perfect.

"Look," Percy said honestly. "If that's not good enough, then really, it's never going to be good enough."

Jason's brows furrowed. "What?"

"I mean, if you're taking fourteen classes and passing them with flying colors, and your dad still doesn't approve, then how much are you willing to give up to make him proud of you?" Percy said pointedly. "If I were you, I'd drop a few useless classes, and go out and have fun. Do you even _like_ chess or accounting?"

Jason shook his head.

"Then forget about them," Percy said. "Loosen up. Never mind what your dad says, you're never going to be able to please him."

"But if I drop anything, I'm not going to be the best anymore," Jason said despairingly.

"Why do you need to be the best?" Percy asked.

"Because my dad was the best," Jason explained, sounding strained. "He had fifteen classes each year, graduated valedictorian, and got into Harvard. But then his parents couldn't afford to send him to Harvard, so now he wants to send _me_ there. But Harvard only takes the best, and if I'm not the best I won't get in!"

"How badly do you want to go to Harvard?" Percy asked.

"My dad wants it more than anythi-" Jason started, but Percy interrupted.

"No, man. How badly do _you_ want to go to Harvard?" Percy asked again.

Jason gave him a blank stare. "I just said my dad wants it more than anything."

"Jason, you're an idiot," Percy stated. "Stop trying to get into Harvard."

"Wh-what?" Jason stammered. "But I have to!"

"Your dad _wants_ you to, that doesn't mean you _have_ to," Percy said. "I don't think you even want to go. I think you're tired of being perfect all the time, and you're tired of studying every weekend instead of going out and having fun."

Jason gave him a half smile. "I _am_ pretty tired."

"You know what I'm going to do about it?" Percy asked, grinning.

"What's that?" Jason asked.

"On Friday, I'm going to forge a note from your dad saying you're sick, and we're going to go have fun."

Jason's smile faltered. "You mean_ ditch?"_

"I don't think you've ever said that word before," Percy snorted. "Yes, I mean ditch."

"What about school-" Jason started, but Percy sighed and cut him off.

"Dude, we just went through this," he said patiently. "Screw school. Just once."

"Okay," Jason relented after a moment. He smiled. "I'm in."

Unfortunately for the both of them, the chance to skip school that Friday never came.

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**A/N **

**Hope you liked it:) So, that's why Jason is such a goody-two shoes; I figured children of Zeus/Jupiter have a lot of pressure on them. Their dad is king of the gods, they're probably pressured to be kings/queens of the demigods lol.**

** Was this not a fast update? Lol, it's my way of saying I love you guys:) I hope to also update this weekend!**

**Again, to the guest reviewers, thanks so much:) And ROFL, your reviews always make me smile! Thank you!**

**Also, since everyone always asks... About Rachel: She's just psychic. Lol that's it. And she has a really good sixth sense. **

**Btw, it'd mean a lot if you checked out some of my other stories and gave me a bit of feedback:) I'd really appreciate it **

**Thanks again for reading! Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	12. Chapter 12

The next evening, after Percy has fixed the door back on it's hinges and scrubbed the floors of blood, he decided to attempt to do some homework. He grabbed his full backpack and headed down the hall to his bedroom. After he plopped down at his desk, he pulled his thick geometry textbook out of his bag. The spine cracked as he let the heavy book fall open, reminding Percy that he hadn't done any math homework all semester.

Percy stared at the page of graphs for a few seconds before slamming his book shut. Moments later, his phone started vibrating. Jason's number appeared on the screen, so he answered it.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You just slammed your geometry book shut, didn't you?"

"How'd you-?"

"I just opened my book too," Jason answered. "I thought you'd have problems with the questions. Need some help?"

Percy sighed. "Well, I wasn't planning on actually doing it, so no."

"I'll be right over."

"Fine."

As he was starting his English homework, Percy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket once again. His heart skipped a beat when he saw it was the number for the hospital.

"Hello?" he answered, confused.

"Hi," a voice on the other line said. "This is nurse Powell. Is this Percy Jackson, Sally Jackson's emergency contact?"

Percy gripped his phone harder. "Yes it is. What happened?"

"How are you related to Mrs. Jackson?" nurse Powell evaded.

"I'm her son, what's wrong?" he asked frantically.

"Is her husband home?"

"No! What happened?" Percy demanded, getting up from his chair and standing against the wall.

"Well in that case, Percy, sweetie, I think it would be best for you to come up to the hospital right away. This isn't news that can be delivered properly over the phone."

Percy's heart sank.

"I don't have a car. Just, just tell me."

The nurse sighed quietly over the phone. "I'm very sorry to inform you that your mother passed away a few minutes ago, after-"

Percy dropped his phone.

He could still hear the nurse's voice on the line as he walked slowly out his newly fixed front door. A gust of icy wind greeted him harshly as he stepped outside. He could feel hot tears welling up in his eyes and a sob rose up in his throat.

He started walking towards the park that was always deserted as his tears fell. Snow started to fall softly, and Percy hugged his bare arms tightly against the chill.

In disbelief, he reached one of the park benches and sank down on it. His mom was gone? Just like that? Thoughts ran through his mind. _They told me she was getting better. She said it herself! Why were they all lying?!_

He hugged his knees to his chest and sniffled into his jeans. He sobbed quietly, feeling very alone.

_I haven't been to the hospital in over a week. I never got to say goodbye._

A childish, purely honest thought formed in his head.

_I hate cancer. I wish my mom was here._

He didn't glance up when heard a car stop and footsteps crunch on the frozen grass towards him.

"Percy?" Jason asked warily. "What're you doing out here? It's freezing!"

Percy put his feet on the ground and clasped his hands on his lap. He met Jason's concerned eyes and took a shaky breath.

"My mom died," he said quietly, his voice breaking on the last word.

"Oh no," Jason said sadly. "I'm so sorry." He sat down on the bench beside him and gave him a hug. Jason could feel Percy shaking, so he pulled him to his feet.

"Come," he ordered gently, and Percy followed him. "We're going to my house."

Numbly, Percy allowed Jason to lead him to his Accord. He brought Percy around to the driver's side to slide over the seats, so he wouldn't have to climb on through the broken window, then slid into the driver's seat himself.

"Buckle up," Jason reminded him gently, and Percy's fingers clumsily fumbled for the belt. After securing it, he folded his hands on his lap again and leaned back on the headrest.

Jason bit his lip then started the car and drove the familiar route to his house. He glanced at his cellphone on the dashboard, and after a moment's hesitation, grabbed it and punched in a number.

Percy vaguely registered his surprise. Jason never even texted while driving, and he especially didn't make phone calls.

"Mom?" Jason said softly into the phone, and Percy choked on a sob as it dawned on him that he would never address anyone like that again.

Jason glanced at him, still biting his lip, as he continued talking to his mother. "I'm bringing Percy over, okay? He's going to stay with us tonight... I'll explain later. Could you maybe set the living room up so we can watch movies? And could you maybe make us some snacks?" He listened for a moment, then smiled. "Thanks, mom, you're the best."

_The word again_, Percy thought._ It's not fair. I don't get to say it anymore._

Jason hung up, then focused on the road once more.

"Percy?" he said hesitantly, and Percy rolled his head to look at him. "Percy, I know things aren't okay right now, but they're going to be. Alright? I promise. You can always talk to me, you know, and you're always welcome at my house, okay?"

Percy nodded, not speaking because of the lump in his throat.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up to the Grace residence. They walked up his front porch, and stepped into the house.

"Honey? Is that you?" Mrs. Grace asked from the kitchen. "Jason, may I speak to you please?"

"Wait here a moment, alright?" Jason told Percy, who nodded once again. Jason disappeared into the kitchen, where Percy heard the mother and son whispering.

Percy jumped as a dish shattered.

Mrs. Grace hurried out of the kitchen towards him and put her hand on his cheek.

"Oh, darling, I'm so sorry," she said softly. "If there's anything you need, you just ask, honey."

Percy tried to nod, but found he couldn't as Mrs. Grace's kind face blurred. Tears streamed down his cheeks again, and before he knew it he found himself wrapped in her embrace.

"Sweetie, don't you worry about anything now," she said, rocking him slightly as she rubbed his back. "Mr. Grace and I will take care of everything. Don't you worry, honey, you just cry and we'll all be here if you need us, alright?"

Percy nodded as he sniffled into her shoulder. They stayed that way for a long time, Mrs. Grace whispering soothing words, and Percy's heart seemed to ache less when he finally pulled away.

"Pewcy?" a small voice asked curiously, and Percy quickly wiped the back of his hand across his eyes when he saw Rosie peeking around the corner.

"Hey, Rosie," he managed to smile, dropping down to one knee:

The five-year old scurried towards him and threw herself into his arms.

"It's okay, Pewcy," she said quietly. "Don't cry. You're a bwave Pwince."

Percy smiled again. "I'm alright, see Rosie?" he held her back so she could see his face. She reached out her tiny hand and smudged a tear off his face.

"Hewe, I bwought you my teddy," she said, producing the stuffed toy. "He makes me feew bettew."

"Thanks," Percy said, accepting the teddy bear from her. "I'm sure he'll do a great job."

She smiled a sticky, toddler smile at him, then scuttled away. Percy turned back towards Mrs. Grace.

"I set up the den for you, and there are lots of movies in the armoire," she smiled, as she brushed a strand of hair off of Percy's forehead. "You and Jason go hang out in there, I'll keep the kids out of the way and dinner will be ready in a while."

Percy mumbled a thank you, and headed into the den. It was set up so it was very cozy; throw blankets, fluffy pillows, and thick comforters laid out so they could lounge in front of the huge widescreen tv.

Jason held up a familiar children's movie.

"Is this still your favorite?" he asked, and Percy gave him a small smile.

"Yeah."

Jason popped the DVD into the player, and they settled back to watch, with Jason spread out on one couch and Percy spread across the other. Mrs. Grace soon came in with a large bowl of popcorn and some sodas which, combined with the movie, managed to take Percy's mind off the situation.

Presently, the doorbell rang, and Jason got up to answer it. Percy was surprised when Jason brought Piper and Annabeth back with him.

"I invited them over, hope you don't mind," Jason grinned as he saw Percy's face light up when Annabeth came into view.

"Hey, great to see you," Percy smiled. Each smile was coming easier now.

"Whatcha guys watching?" Annabeth asked, looking at the screen.

"Lilo and Stitch," Percy blushed.

Annabeth grinned. "Why?"

"It's in Hawaii, and I love swimming and the ocean," Percy confessed.

Annabeth laughed. "Is swimming all you think about? You're such a seaweed brain. Scoot over."

Percy immediately made room for her, and she settled back comfortably. Piper and Jason arranged themselves a respectable distance on the other couch, and Percy tried not to snort at them.

As the movie went on Percy caught Jason's eye. In Percy's opinion, he and Piper were sitting much too far apart for how much they liked each other.

"Closer," Percy mouthed, gesturing behind Annabeth's head at him.

Jason didn't get it at first, then his eyes widened with understanding. He scooted a few centimeters closer to his girl.

Percy rolled his eyes.

"Closer," he mouthed again, gesturing harder. He then pointed to himself and Annabeth, emphasizing how their shoulders were touching.

Gradually, Jason inched closer to Piper until their pose matched Percy and Annabeth's.

"Repeat after me," Percy mouthed, then yawned and slowly started stretching, reaching his arm behind Annabeth's neck, then let it drape across her shoulders.

Annabeth snuggled closer.

Jason hesitated, then slowly repeated Percy's moves.

Piper also snuggled closer.

Jason smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head. Not wanting to be outdone, Percy leaned back and gently pulled Annabeth with him, until they were lying against the armrest, with Annabeth's head on Percy's chest.

Jason frowned, obviously disapproving of their PDA, but when Piper leaned against him harder he didn't stop her as they slowly copied Percy and Annabeth. Piper laced her fingers through his and rested her head against his chest as he twirled his fingers through her chopped tresses.

As Percy hesitantly did the same with Annabeth's hair, he began to relax even more until he realized he was drifting off to sleep.

Later, Percy would feel guilty about how easily his mind was taken off of his grief for his mother, but right now he felt more at ease than he had in a long time.

His eyelids were getting heavier and heavier, until finally, emotionally exhausted from the day's events, Percy shut his eyes and slipped into sleep.

The whole time the movie played, Mr. and Mrs. Grace sat quietly in the kitchen and organized everything.

The funeral was scheduled for Sunday morning.

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**A/N**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it:) Sorry I had to kill off Percy's mom, hope I didn't break your hearts too badly.. **

**OMG. There's like 10,000 views on this, and nearly 200 reviews! Thanks so much everyone, I really appreciate it! **

**To the guests reviewers: Thank you all, I will try to update as much as possible:)**

**To ROFL, thanks for your reviews, they all made me smile! Lol glad you liked his outfit XD (Percy meets Poseidon again in a couple chapters, I promise!:))**

**Anyway, there's like 100 followers, so it'd be awesome if everyone who is following reviewed XD J/K, you don't have to, but I'd really appreciate any feedback:)**

**Oh, one last thing: I obviously suck at summaries, so if anyone wants to help me write a better/more interesting summary for this PM me XD**

**Thanks again for reading! Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	13. Author's Note!

**A/N**

**Sorry everyone, I know this isn't an update, but in order for me to update I need your opinions! So, could y'all be dears and go vote on the poll on my profile? I'm asking if I should include a couple of OC's in this story, or do you all hate the it when an author includes her own characters? Just need opinions. For "Other," you can either review-reply or PM me:)**

**They would be a boy and a girl, I swear they're not Mary-Sues or Gary-Stus. The names are Axl Moretti and Riley Whitley. They won't have a big part or anything, just be minor characters, but you'd like them if they were in it.**

**Okay, please vote:) If I get at least 10 votes, update should be this weekend:)**

**Thanks so much!:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**

**P. S. I swear they won't be shipped with any of the main characters,(Especially not Percy!) or anyone at all really:) (Lol, I hate that, too!)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**

**Thanks everyone for voting!:) I decided to add the OC's, because I don't want any of the canon characters to play such small parts:) Also, I kind of ran out of canon characters I wanted to use that didn't need to be elsewhere! So, without further ado, here is the next chapter:) **

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Percy woke up the next morning slightly disoriented, wondering why he was in Jason's living room. Then, all of the previous day's events crashed down, the weight nearly smothering him, and he struggled to breathe for a moment.

Just when he had regained his breath, his chest spasmed and he leaned forward in a coughing fit. Jason stirred from across the room, and he focused on evening his breaths. As Percy drew his arm away from his mouth, he was less surprised than he should have been to see flecks of blood. Impatiently, he rubbed them away.

His head aching slightly, he yawned and stretched, then rubbed his palms into his eyes to wipe away the sleep.

Once Jason woke up, the two of them headed into the kitchen, where Mrs. Grace had prepared a large breakfast of pancakes, toast, eggs, bacon, and waffles.

Not having much of an appetite, Percy picked at everything and nibbled a bit of toast before excusing himself and telling the Graces that he needed to be home.

Jason headed off to school, and, after one last hug from Mrs. Grace and Rosie, Mr. Grace drove Percy to his house.

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Gabe wasn't home when Percy arrived. Percy figured he was already at work, and he hoped someone from the hospital had called him, since he really didn't want to be the one to tell Gabe that his mom...

Percy pushed the thought out of his mind, not wanting to cry alone in an empty house.

Instead, he started cleaning.

When his mom had been well, she had always made sure the house was spotless at all times. The carpets were vacuumed daily, the silver was polished once a month, and the whole house was thoroughly dusted once a week.

Ever since Sally had been diagnosed and staying in the hospital, the house slowly dissolved into entropy. The carpets were lucky if Percy remembered to vacuum once every two weeks, and Percy had never had the patience to polish any candlesticks. And dusting? Not once since Sally checked into Samaritan Mercy.

Percy brought out the duster now and set to work on the disastrous area. Fixing up the house felt like he was honoring her memory, in a way, and the work took his mind off things. He scrubbed the floors and walls, polished the furniture, cleaned the windows, washed all the dishes, tidied every room, sanitized the bathrooms, dusted every picture frame, and changed all the burnt-out lightbulbs.

Percy cleaned all day, ignoring his headache and simply wiping up the speckles every time he coughed up blood. When he had finished, it was nearly dark outside, and he was very proud of himself. The house was sparkling, and he knew his mom would be proud.

_Would have been_, he mentally corrected himself, and he bit his lip hard to stop it from quivering.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then checked the fridge and pantry. They were running low on lots of food, so Percy grabbed a few bills out of the grocery fund and headed to the store, not wanting to stop moving.

Every time he stopped, his heart ached too much.

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Sunday, the morning of the funeral, came bright and early. The weather was beautiful for winter; the sun was shining cheerfully and clouds floated softly across the sky.

Percy despised it.

He dressed in the same outfit he wore to Piper's dad's promotion party, since Jason had insisted he keep the suit jacket. He knew that one was supposed to wear all black to a funeral, but he and his mother had both loved blue, so he felt the dark blue dress shirt was appropriate.

Percy was glad the service was going to be held early; he just wanted it to be over with. The funeral would be hard enough without having to dread it all day.

He knew his day was going to be even harder when he heard Gabe stomp down the hallway.

"Where are you, you little brat?" he screamed, slamming open Percy's door.

This suit must be bad luck, Percy thought wryly as Gabe stalked towards him. Gabe raised his hand and smacked Percy across the face as hard as he could, and Percy's head jerked to the side.

Without giving a reason, he continued his assault and sank his fist into Percy's abdomen, and Percy doubled over, coughing.

As he bent in half, Gabe threw his other fist upwards, hitting Percy squarely on the chin, and he flew backwards.

"This... This is your fault," Gabe spat at him, slurring his words slightly. "It's all your fault!"

Percy didn't respond, he was too dazed.

Gabe shouted angrily, and grabbed the corner of Percy's dresser, shoving it over onto his stepson.

Percy cried out as the dresser drawers fell open, one by one hitting him until the entire dresser slammed into his side.

Miscellaneous items from the top of his dresser slid off and hit him in the face; pencils, a comb, a few CD cases.

"You should've died instead," Gabe said meanly, his voice cracking slightly. "She didn't deserve to. You do."

Then, he turned and stumbled out.

Percy heard him open the fridge and clank a few beer bottles around, and when he heard him slam the front door he slowly slid out from under the heavy dresser.

_Gabe's right_, he thought, his ears ringing with his final words. _I wish it _had_ been me._

Then, he picked himself up and brushed himself off as best he could. He squared his shoulders, trying to ready himself to face the funeral ahead of him, then headed out the door to Gabe's car.

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Percy drove to the church he had attended with Jason a few weeks ago, then parked. He sat in the car as long as he could, right up until ten o'clock, when the service officially started. He heard the group inside stiffly singing Amazing Grace, and headed inside himself.

He pushed open the doors of the sanctuary, but when he saw the shiny black coffin glinting at the end of the aisle, his heart stopped.

_Open-casket._

Something he wasn't prepared for.

He paused in the doorway for a moment, staring at his shoes, one hand holding the door open, before letting it close and stepping back into the foyer.

_Come on, Percy, you can do this,_ he thought to himself.

The doors opened, and Jason appeared in front of him.

"You okay?" he asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. Jason looked like a model mourner, dressed completely in black with his hair parted and combed neatly to the side. Percy second-guessed his own choice of clothing, but waved it aside with more pressing matters on his mind.

"Yeah." Percy took a deep breath and let Jason lead him towards the doors again.

Jason pushed them open, and Percy bravely looked at the casket once more.

Gleaming, dark, and new, the piece itself was relatively unremarkable, but a flowing green gown was spilling over the edge of it, carefully having been spread out by somebody.

Percy's knees buckled.

No.

_Wrong._

_All wrong._

His mother had _never_ worn green, since it was Gabe's favorite color, and she would have never worn something as thick, heavy, and impractical as that long velvet. In fact, the only time she had willingly worn a gown was at her wedding. The weighty green fabric she was clothed in for everyone's last memory of her was just... _Wrong_.

"I can't do this," Percy choked out, stepping backwards and reaching for the door.

"Percy," Jason said softly grabbing his arm, but Percy shook his head violently.

"Please don't make me stay," he begged tearfully. "_I can't do this_."

Suddenly, the doors to the sanctuary burst open, and a very drunk Gabe stumbled in.

"Lemme see her!" he slurred, staggering down the aisle towards the casket. "I wanna see my Sally!"

Mr. Grace shot up in his seat, with lightning in his eyes.

"Sir," he said furiously, stepping in front of him. "This is completely inappropriate. You need to leave right now."

Gabe pushed him aside. "Don't tell me what to do, smartass."

Mr. Grace grabbed Gabe firmly by the arm and practically dragged him out of the church.

Percy was mortified. Every eye was now on him, and he could feel the judgmental stares.

He glanced again at the beautiful velvet gown spilling over the edge of the gleaming casket.

Mrs. Atropos clucked her tongue and said loudly, "I told you he was ill-bred."

That was the last straw for Percy. Eyes stinging, he thought, _I'm sorry, mom_, and he turned and ran out of the church, ignoring Jason's calls after him.

He threw himself into his car and slammed the keys into the ignition. He squealed out of the parking lot, hardly noticing where he was going and barely able to see the road through his tears. He tugged off his tie and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his dark blue shirt, which had been making it difficult to breath. He ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand every which way, then he fumbled for the pack of cigarettes on the dashboard. He clumsily knocked into the ashtray, which deposited a small mountain of gray onto his black dress pants. He impatiently brushed it to the floor and reached once again for the cigarettes, managing to retrieve one and light it as he drove.

His hands were shaking badly, and he dropped the cigarette several times, cursing as he did so. Several holes were burned into his clothes from the fiery end of his cigarette, and he angrily threw it out the window. Percy's heart ached, and he clapped his empty hand over his mouth to hold back a sob, though no one was there to see him cry. The lump in his throat nearly choked him, and he gasped for air as hot tears flowed down his cheeks.

He narrowly avoided several collisions, driving through blurred vision and steering with one hand, sometimes with no hands as he lit another cigarette.

His mind was all jumbled, his thoughts making no sense. _She hated green. Wouldn't wear the dress. She was _right_ there. Mrs. Atropos was right. Gabe._

Percy had no destination in mind, he just sped down an old country road, wanting to forget that church and everyone and everything in it. He hated it. Percy had no intention of ever stepping foot inside a church again. He would be married in a barn, christen his children in a pool, and make sure his own funeral was outdoors.

So, he was deeply surprised when he found himself parked in front of another church, this one smaller and older, but one hundred times more inviting.

Evergreen bushes grew in a row along the sidewalk leading up to the door, and a few types of flowers that only bloomed in winter had been planted beside them. The sidewalk itself was free of snow, and had been carefully sprinkled with ice.

Percy rolled down his window to get a better look, and when he did he could hear the congregation inside singing a beautiful melody.

Intrigued, Percy shut off the engine and listened to the music for a moment. Quite a contrast to the forced, memorized Amazing Grace he had just heard at the other church, this song was being sung from each person's heart.

Not quite sure what he was doing, Percy got out of the car and stomped his burnt-out cigarette on the ground, then walked up to the door and quietly pulled it open. He hesitantly walked towards another set of doors, where the voices were coming from. He could hear the words more clearly now:

_When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,_

_When sorrows like sea billows roll;_

_Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,_

_It is well, it is well, with my soul._

Percy stepped up beside the door and desperately hung on to every word. When the music was over, he heard the preacher start his sermon, and he was debating whether or not to leave when the preacher said something that caught his attention.

"There is no such thing as an orphan."

Percy was curious. _I'm technically an orphan, aren't I?_

"No matter who you are, or what your situation is, you will always have a Father who loves you. We have all been adopted by our Heavenly Father, and we are his children."

Percy smiled a little at that. He liked the way it sounded. He crept closer to the door so he could hear better.

Suddenly the door swung open, and a well-dressed man stepped out.

"Excuse me," the man immediately apologized, but Percy was already heading towards the door. The church, the music, the sermon; everything here was beautiful. He realized he didn't want to stay any longer and taint it with his presence.

_Ill-bred, _he remembered, pushing open the front door.

"Percy?" the man said, and his voice was familiar enough that Percy stopped.

He turned to see Officer Poseidon, the man who had bumped into him, wearing a suit and looking curiously at him.

"What are you doing here?" the officer asked.

"I was just leaving, sorry," Percy blushed, glancing down at himself and realizing he must look a sight. There were ashes all over his pants and shirt, not to mention burn holes, and as he caught a glance of his reflection in the glass door, saw that there were some ashen streaks on his face. He smelled like smoke, his hair was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot, and there was a cut on his lip and a bruise on his chin from Gabe's attack that morning.

"Where are you going?" Poseidon stopped him, and when Percy answered he continued, "Wouldn't you like to stay?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't," Percy shook his head, blushing even more deeply. "No one wants me here."

"Nonsense," Poseidon said after giving him a strange look. He walked over to Percy, who flinched only slightly as the officer put his arm around his shoulders. "We'd love to have you stay."

Poseidon steered him towards the sanctuary doors and pushed them open. A few heads turns, and Percy immediately looked away. When he shyly glanced up, he realized with a shock that many of the people were smiling at him. He hesitantly smiled back, and they turned their attentions back to the sermon.

Poseidon led him straight up the center aisle, walking him to a pew that was nearly in the front, and they sat down together.

Percy gladly listened to the sermon, which was so different than the one at Jason's church. The sermon there had been about fire and brimstone, and how if they sinned they were damned to hell forever. This sermon was full of words of love and encouragement, and Percy's heart lifted with each statement.

When the pastor had finished, the congregation rose to sing a song. Percy was ready to mouth "watermelon, cantaloupe," when Poseidon handed him a book with the words in it. Percy flipped through the hymnal until he found the right song, _Redeemed_, and sang along with the beautiful voices.

The pastor said a closing prayer when the song was over, and the congregation all spread out. Percy suddenly found himself at the center of attention.

"Hello, young man," a kind woman said, shaking his hand. "We're so glad to have you here."

"I'm happy to see a new face!" another woman, this one elderly, said brightly.

"Will you be staying for potluck, son?" one man asked, gesturing to another set of doors leading out of the sanctuary.

"Oh, um, I don't..." Percy trailed off, but Poseidon put a hand on his shoulder.

"Please stay, Percy," he smiled. "We'd love to have you."

"Alright," Percy stammered, and he was led to the fellowship hall.

Someone pulled out a chair for him, and he mumbled a thank you.

"Let me round up some of the youth class," Poseidon said. "I'm sure they'd like to meet you."

"No, that's okay," Percy tried to protest, remembering the judgmental teenagers at Jason's church, but Poseidon had already reached the group of kids.

"Here we are," Poseidon said, returning with a group of friendly-looking teens. "Not everyone is here today, but this is most of them. Let's see. Everyone, this is Percy Jackson. Percy, this is Frank Zhang, Michael Yew, Hazel Levesque, did I say that right, honey?" The short, dark skinned girl shook her head and corrected him. "Oh okay, it's Hazel Le_vesque_, and we have Axl Moretti, Riley Whitley, and Bianca and Nico DiAngelo."

Percy smiled shyly at the group, who all grinned back.

"I'll leave you kids to it, then," Poseidon said, sensing the reluctance to speak in the presence of an adult.

"Are you new here?" Michael, the tall blonde boy, asked immediately.

"Not really," Percy answered. "I've lived here my whole life, I've just never been to this church before."

"It's kind of hidden way back here," Hazel, the youngest looking girl, nodded. "But I've never even seen you at school. What school do you go to?"

"Goode High," Percy said. "I don't think any of you go there."

"No, we all go to Yancy Academy," Frank, the tallest of the bunch, said.

"Except for Bianca and Riley," Michael grinned. "They go to Clarion Ladies Academy."

"Oh, shut it, will you?" Riley, the petite Asian-American girl grumbled. "You don't have to remind me every two seconds."

"It's really nice there," the dark-haired girl named Bianca assured Percy. "Riley just isn't a fan of the rules."

"How am I supposed to be a fan of 'no boys allowed,' and 'no PG-13 movies?'" Riley complained, earning more snickers from the public-schooled teens.

"That's what you get for being kicked out of _our_ school," Michael teased.

"I was kicked out of Yancy, too," Percy grinned. "It was in sixth grade."

"High-five then, fellow rebel," Riley said, holding out her palm.

Just then, it was announced that potluck was ready, and the teens all stood up for the prayer. After getting their food, they sat down together at a table, and Percy felt at ease. No one said anything about his messy appearance, though Bianca did get him a napkin to wipe the ashes from his clothes, and Hazel re-tied his tie for him.

"I hope you can come again next week," Axl, the dark-haired boy with the slight Italian accent, said sincerely, once they had finished eating. "If you come earlier, we can go to Sunday school together."

"It's a lot of fun," the youngest teen, Nico, said. "Think you can?"

Percy smiled at his new friends. "Definitely."

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**A/N**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it:) And there we go, lol the OC's didn't steal the show, and my Bible thumping is done XD Also, a lot of you wanted a more emotional Percy, so I hope I broke him down enough for you there! Haha... What do you think of Percy's new friends?:)**

**All the reviews/views/follows/favorites are incredible, I cannot thank you guys enough:) Lol, honestly, I still can't believe people like the story so much, but I'm so glad you do!**

**I know I said I will try to update at least once a week, but... It's finals week D: So yeah, I really need to study! I'll still try to write if I have time:)**

**Thanks everyone for voting on the poll, and giving me your opinions, it was much appreciated!**

**Ohhh, and, I'm sure no one really cares, but, do y'all have any questions for me? Anything at all really, just to get to know your author:) I'll try to answer them all lol!**

**Thanks again for reading:) Please review!**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	15. Chapter 15

The days that followed, Percy attempted to return to normalcy. Since the funeral, Gabe had been nowhere to be found, and Percy was okay with that.

He forced himself to go to school on Thursday, and was surprised to find that his locker was half-covered with lime green sticky notes.

Most of them were Rachel's scribbled condolences, but there were a few of her classic cryptic messages posted amongst them:

_This is just the beginning_

_Watch your mouth_

_Wave to someone in the crowd_

_Make sure they see you_

_You're still stuck_

The notes gave Percy a headache, or maybe it was the same headache from last weekend and the notes only reminded him of it. Either way, he just wanted to push the notes out of his mind, but they unnerved him nonetheless.

The teachers seemed to be giving him a sort of free pass today, because when he arrived late to his first class Mr. Brunner merely nodded.

Percy found he wasn't able to pay attention, since he shared this class with Rachel, and he kept glancing over to her desk every few minutes.

The bell finally rang, and Percy made a beeline for her.

"We need to talk," they both said at the same time, then blinked at each other in surprise.

"Outside, where no one will bother us," Rachel said, gathering up her books and taking Percy's hand. She pulled him out a side door, one Percy sometimes ducked out of to smoke in between classes, and they faced each other in the small alley.

"You first," Rachel said, examining him intently.

Percy sighed. "Could you please explain these?" he asked, producing the sticky notes from his back pocket.

Rachel's face fell. "They'll explain themselves."

Percy frowned.

"I'm sorry," Rachel apologized sadly. "That's all I can tell you. I can only sense things so far."

"Could you answer a different question then?" Percy tried, and Rachel nodded.

"If I can."

"Have you always been able to tell the future?" he asked curiously.

Rachel cocked her head to the side. "I used to see a lot more, but I was struck by lightning when I was nine and the images got a lot fuzzier."

"You were struck by lightning?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Yeah, no big deal," she said. "I only died for two minutes at the hospital, but that's not even my record."

"Your record?"

"I was born dead," she explained. "I didn't cry or take a breath for seven whole minutes. I think that's when the visions started. When I was really young I always had dreams about this guy who wrote really bad poetry. We'd talk for a while, and he'd tell me he was the one who gave me a second chance."

"You think it was more than a dream?" Percy asked.

Rachel smiled mysteriously. "I'll never know."

Suddenly, a strong breeze blew through the alley.

"Perseus!" Rachel exclaimed, dropping to her knees with her hands over her ears.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked worriedly, dropping down beside her.

"No!" she shouted, shaking her head. "You can't!"

"I can't what?" Percy asked, trying to take her hands away from her ears.

Rachel's eyes widened, and she reached out and gripped Percy's forearms, hard. "Promise me something!"

"What?" Percy asked, wincing as her fingers dug into his flesh.

"You need to promise," she said seriously. "You need to promise you won't say anything you don't mean today?"

"What's that supposed to-"

"Just promise!" Rachel begged, her eyes filling with tears.

"I- I promise," Percy said hesitantly.

A tear escaped and rolled down Rachel's cheek.

"I promise," Percy said, more firmly, then once more, in a gentle voice. "I promise."

Rachel shook her head. "I know you. It's going to happen anyway."

"What's going to happen anyway?" Percy asked, feeling nervous.

Rachel stared at him, then threw herself at him, crying into his neck.

Percy was surprised, but he wrapped his arms around her nonetheless.

"Perseus, you're a good guy," she sobbed. "You don't deserve any of this."

"It's okay," Percy said, using the only comforting words he could think of. He had no idea what she was talking about, but since it was obviously upsetting her it seemed to be the right thing to do.

"Really," she said, crying harder. "Anyone else in the world deserves it but you."

"You don't need to worry about me," Percy tried to assure her, squeezing her tightly and rubbing a few small circles onto her back. "I'll be okay."

"Will you?" Rachel whispered. "Even I can't tell."

"I will," Percy said, trying to sound confident. "I promise."

"Now that's two promises you can't keep," Rachel sighed.

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**A/N **

**I know this is short, please don't hate me.**

**I'm currently exhausted, and barely had time to write anything this week, but I felt I owed it to y'all to get at least ****_something_**** up. Next chapter will be way longer, I promise.**

**It was also hard to write since my laptop crashed:( I wrote and posted this on my friend's phone!**

**I hope you liked it anyway:) **

**And also, I'm so sorry I didn't reply to any of your reviews on the last chapter! I just didn't have time:( I will for this one though! And ROFL- you'll have to wait and see;)**

**Again, thanks for reading! And again, if you have a question for me, just ask:)**

**Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	16. Chapter 16

Once Rachel had calmed down, she left Percy's side, refusing to say anything more on the subject.

Percy was feeling very confused as he wandered aimlessly through the halls. He should have been in biology, his last class of the day, but he was suddenly feeling depressed and tired, and didn't want to see anyone.

A colorful poster on the wall stood out to him, and he walked up to it. It was a flyer for a music recital. Percy was about to dismiss it, when the name of one of the performers jumped out on the poster.

_Annabeth Chase._

His heart fluttered, and he checked his watch. The recital would be in an hour and a half, and he decided he would attend.

The bell rang signaling the end of school, so Percy shouldered his backpack and ran down the steps of the school. A puffy white weed caught his eye, and he was a little surprised to see it growing in the winter.

Percy plucked the dandelion up and blew it, scattering the seeds across the school's lawn.

"Jackson!" a voice screeched.

Percy whipped his head up and was deeply annoyed to see Mr. Tasia.

"So it's not just _my_ property you deface, huh?" Mr. Tasia croaked from across the sidewalk.

"It's just a _weed_!" Percy complained, irritated that a crowd had stopped to watch him, and he was being scolded in front of half the school.

"To you dirty rotten hoodlums it's just a weed, but to good, hardworking people it's hours of work!" Mr. Tasia retorted, shaking a knobby finger at Percy.

"Chill, old man," Percy frowned, getting a few snickers out of the crowd. Mr. Tasia seemed to grow angrier.

"Isn't about time they locked you up?" Mr. Tasia screamed back.

"Isn't it about time you died?" Percy answered hotly, getting multiple female gasps from the crowd. Percy instantly regretted his words- his mother had taught him to respect his elders, but Mr. Tasia just seemed to always get on his last nerve.

"I'm calling the cops on you!" Mr. Tasia bellowed, heading to the corner of the sidewalk where there was a payphone.

"Why?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Defacing public property, and verbal assault!" Mr. Tasia answered as he dialed three numbers.

Since the police station was right around the corner, sirens were heard within two minutes.

Percy groaned as Officer Poseidon stepped out of the cruiser.

"_I_ called in the report," Mr. Tasia said, hobbling up to him. "Arrest that hoodlum!"

Percy frowned as Mr. Tasia gestured to him.

Poseidon sighed when he saw the perpetrator.

"_Did_ you deface public property?" he asked Percy, who vigorously shook his head.

"I blew a dandelion onto the grass!"

Poseidon frowned and turned back to Mr. Tasia. "Sir, that's not quite defacing public property."

"Then he definitely verbally assaulted me!" the old man insisted. "He said he wanted me to die!"

"I did not!" Percy protested.

"Did the kid specifically threaten you, sir?" Poseidon asked.

Mr. Tasia hesitated, then shook his head.

"Did he harm you in any way?"

Another head shake.

"Then there's nothing I can really do, sir," Poseidon explained. "Percy did nothing wrong, except showing disrespect, which is legal in all fifty states."

Mr. Tasia huffed, then stormed off, while Percy grinned triumphantly.

Officer Poseidon's radio crackled.

"Officer, how goes the situation?"

"Everything's been taken care of, there was a misunderstanding," Poseidon spoke into the speaker.

"Then please report back to the station."

"Affirmative," he answered.

Then, he turned back to Percy and frowned. "I wish I could stay and give you a lesson on respect, but I have to run," he said regretfully. "But stay-"

"Out of trouble, I know," Percy finished, and Poseidon smiled.

"Good. Try hard," he added, getting back into his cruiser. "Oh, one more thing," he added, rolling down his window. "Next Thursday, the youth group from my church is meeting for a small get-together. Could I pick you up at 4 o'clock?"

"Sure," Percy smiled, then waved as the officer drove off.

Percy turned back towards the crowd, which had thinned out considerably. A familiar blonde boy stepped towards him.

"That was uncalled for," Jason frowned. "Mr. Tasia is a nice old man."

"Whatever," Percy rolled his eyes. "He creeps me out. I hope he _does_ die."

"You don't mean that," Jason scolded, his frown deepening.

Percy shrugged. "Maybe I do."

Jason sighed. "You wanna come to my house? I have to meet with the chess club first, but if you wait a bit we can hang out."

"No, I have to get home," Percy found himself lying. _Why don't I just tell Jason I'm going to the recital_? he wondered.

"Alright," Jason said, his face falling a little. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

Percy waved goodbye, then headed into town.

He stopped into the florist shop on the way and picked out a small bouquet of daisies, then headed for the theater.

Suddenly, a familiar Accord appeared at the stop light on the corner.

Percy jumped when he realized it was in fact Jason who was at the wheel, and he quickly ducked into an alley between two shops so his friend wouldn't see him.

Percy peeked around the corner, and realized Jason had his turn signal on and was going to drive past him.

He pressed himself against a door in the alley, and reached behind him to jiggle the handle. He cursed when he found it locked, and settled for trying to flatten himself against the door as much as possible.

Jason drove by.

Percy let out a sigh of relief, then, when he was sure the coast was clear, headed out of the alley and towards the theater the recital was being held.

When he arrived, the place was packed. There were so many people, every seat had been taken, so Percy squeezed himself into a crowded corner to see the performances.

Suddenly, the back of Percy's neck prickled, and he felt like he was being watched. He scanned the room for any familiar faces, then saw none other than Luke Castellan glaring at him from the opposite corner. Even from a distance, Percy could see Luke was practically shaking with anger. Luke glanced at the bouquet of daisies Percy was holding, then stormed out of the theater.

Percy was about to follow to find out what his problem was, but just then the program started.

After a few violin solos and flute duets, Annabeth came onto the stage and sat at the gleaming piano, and Percy forgot all about Luke. She played a beautiful piece, which sounded extremely difficult and impressive to Percy's untrained ears, and earned a standing ovation from the audience.

Someone jostled Percy's elbow, and he dropped his bouquet. Before he could pick it up, someone made way for a woman passing by, and accidentally stepped on the flowers.

When he removed his foot, the flowers had been ruined and crushed. Crestfallen, Percy left the bouquet and turned to look at Annabeth once more before she exited the stage.

When he realized she hadn't seen him, he hurried towards the exit, where he was sure she would come out of any time. He settled to wait, figuring she was just packing up her things.

Percy waited for an hour before giving up, recognizing that she must have left through another door.

Feeling defeated, he kicked a pebble on the road and headed for home.

Depressed again, he started thinking about Annabeth.

_I should really officially ask her out_, he thought to himself, as he kicked at more pebbles on the ground.

As his foot struck one pebble, it made a different sound than the others. Slightly puzzled, Percy bent down to examine it.

It was a diamond ring.

Now thoroughly confused, Percy picked up the ring and glanced around. Where had it come from?

Then, he spied a bracelet a few yards in front of him, and he walked over and collected that, too.

He dropped the jewelery into his shirt pocket and looked around the street for the owner, but the street was deserted.

There was a diamond necklace lying on the doorstep to a jewelry shop next to him, and Percy realized it was Mr. Tasia's jewelry store.

He picked up the necklace and slipped it through his arm, then pushed open the door of the shop to return the jewelry.

The moment the door opened, a shrill alarm sounded.

Percy was startled, but his heart stopped when he saw a body on the ground, lying in a pool of blood.

Mr. Tasia.

He quickly dropped to his knees beside the still figure and gently shook him.

"Sir, are you alright?" he asked loudly.

Mr. Tasia, who had blood running down the side of his head, didn't reply, and Percy started to panic. He checked to see if the victim was breathing, then sighed in relief when he found he was. There was also a faint pulse, so Percy stood up to call 911.

As he got to his feet, something caught his eye. A long, smooth piece of wood was sticking out from under the counter, so Percy reached down and pulled it out.

It was a baseball bat covered in blood.

Shocked, he quickly dropped the weapon and reached for the phone on the counter. He heard sirens coming up the road, and realized the alarm must have already alerted the police.

Red and blue lights flashed, so he walked out of the shop to face the authorities.

"Freeze!" a cop called out, training his pistol on him. "Put your hands in the air!"

Percy quickly did what was asked, and the necklace around his arm swung around.

"Thief, don't move!" another officer ordered, also pointing his gun at him.

"No, this wasn't me!" he protested, jerking his head towards the shop. "I didn't steal anything!"

The first cop rushed into the shop, then yelled out urgently, "We've got a body in here!"

The second cop raised his eyebrows and glanced over to another police car, where Percy was surprised to see Officer Neptune, also holding a gun.

Poseidon glanced around at his squad and sighed.

"Arrest him," Officer Apollo, who Percy just noticed, said to Poseidon, giving him a pointed look.

Poseidon walked up to Percy, his gun trained on the teen as he reached for a pair of handcuffs.

"No," Percy breathed, shaking his head.

"You have the right to remain silent," Poseidon said sadly. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...

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**A/N**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it:)**

**Yeah, I just arrested Percy... So yeah. Sorry it's the worst cliffhanger ever! What'd y'all think?**

**This may be my last update for a couple months, so I just wanted to say that I really appreciated all the support and feedback everyone has given me over the past few months:) I loved writing for you guys and interacting with you! I still cannot believe that people actually like my writing, and I'm so happy that I have so many followers, favorites, and reviews:) You guys are the best!:)**

**I promise I'll be back:)**

**Until then, thanks again for reading! Please review:)**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	17. Author's Update!

**Hey y'all! Sorry this isn't a chapter, just wanted to let you know that I got back later than expected due to complications! I didn't have any time to write while I was working, so expect the new chapter a little later than promised, sorry!**

**To be clear, this story will not be abandoned:) I've got about 1,000 words down for the next chapter, but I'll try to make it longer for you guys.**

**To everyone who's messaged me: I will get back to you as soon as I can, I just don't have the time to go through my PMs at the moment, so I apologize, and please be patient! I will get back to you ASAP:).**

**To everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited while I was away- thank you for your continued support! You all are amazing:) Love you all! (Especially you, ROFL x))**

**Also, just to let you know, I had a fantastic summer! I may have possibly met someone amazing, so if you start seeing a ridiculous amount of romantic/lovey oneshots from me, that's my reason lol.**

**Hope y'all had fabulous summers as well. I'll be back with a chapter for you within a couple weeks!**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


	18. Chapter 17

"I didn't do it, I swear!" Percy protested, struggling as Poseidon dragged him towards a squad car. "I just found this stuff, I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Keep your mouth shut, kid," Poseidon whispered sharply to him. "I said anything you say will be used against you. Don't give the cops any leverage."

"But I didn't-!"

"Hush, Percy," Poseidon whispered again, as he pretended to roughly shove him into the back of a cruiser for the sake of the observing officers. "You need a lawyer first. Now zip it."

"But-"

"Not a word," Poseidon said sternly, before slamming the door.

Poseidon banged twice on the roof to let the officer driving the car know that the suspect was ready to go, and within seconds the car was speeding off towards the station.

Officer Poseidon was left staring worriedly after it, as the rest of the cops headed inside the jewelry shop to collect evidence and get Mr. Tasia the medical attention he needed.

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Through the gated screen separating the front and back seat, Percy could see the young officer glancing back at him every few seconds.

"You're certainly in trouble, kid," the officer said, shaking his head.

Percy opened his mouth to reply, but, remembering Officer Poseidon's warning, decided against it. The rest of the ride was silent.

Once they got to the police station, Percy was led through a series of hallways until they reached an empty counter.

"I'm gonna empty your pockets, kid," the cop told him, as he did so while Percy's hands were still cuffed. He confiscated Percy's phone, wallet, and watch, then led him to another cop standing in a doorway.

"This is the kid we radioed ahead about," the officer holding Percy's arm said.

"I'll take it from here," the new officer smirked, roughly pulling Percy towards him. Percy noted his name was Officer Algos.

"Let's make sure you're nice and secure, you little delinquent," Algos glared at Percy, cinching the handcuffs tighter around the teen's wrists.

"Ouch!" Percy protested, trying to twist away only to be grabbed roughly by the arm.

"Shuttup," Algos rolled his eyes, then proceeded to drag Percy down another hallway.

"Where are you taking me?" Percy asked, struggling in vain against his handcuffs.

"Interrogation room," Officer Algos grunted.

"You can't be serious!" Percy protested. "What the hell?"

"Watch you mouth, punk," the officer said, barely glancing at him.

"Kiss my ass, you stupid jerk!" Percy shot back, his temper flaring, and the officer shoved him roughly into a small room.

"Sit," he said sternly, pointing at one of the three chairs around a cold metal table.

Percy crossed his arms and glared, staying upright. The officer rolled his eyes and shut the door.

"I said, 'sit,'," Officer Algos said, louder, as he shoved Percy towards the chair. Percy was thrown off-balance, and the handcuffs prevented him from catching himself as he fell, and he landed hard on his elbow.

"Get up," Algos huffed, poking Percy with his boot. "I ain't got all day."

"Here, kid," another male voice said, and Percy was pulled to his feet. Once upright, he found himself staring into the eyes of another police officer, named Dolos.

"Please, have a seat," Dolos said, pulling out one of the chairs and offering it to him. Hesitantly, Percy sat on the edge of it, while the cops pulled the other two chairs to the opposite side of the table and sat down. The cops both stared at the teen with scrutiny.

"I want a lawyer," Percy said, suddenly feeling nervous.

"We just want to ask you a few questions," Dolos said, but Algos cut him off by slamming his palm on the table, and Percy jumped in his seat.

"Yeah, I have a few questions," Algos said aggressively. "Why'd you do it?"

"What?" Percy asked incredulously. "But I didn't do anything!"

"Yes you did," Algos rolled his eyes. "Cut the crap, punk. You broke into that jewelry shop, tried to steal everything you could, then when poor Mr. Tasia caught you, you decided to try and kill him to make your getaway! Isn't that right?"

"No!" Percy protested. "I didn't try to kill him-"

"Only stun or injure, so you could get out of there?" Algos demanded.

"No! I didn't hurt him at all," Percy tried to explain, but Algos interrupted once more.

"Really? Hitting an old man in the head with a baseball bat wouldn't hurt him at all?"

"But I didn't hit him with a baseball bat!" Percy said, starting to feel flustered. "When I saw him, I tried to make sure he was okay-"

"So you didn't know your own strength?" Algos reasoned. "You thought you had only hit him lightly, but when he went down you panicked?"

"I didn't do anything to him!" Percy said desperately. "Why won't you believe me?"

"Because you're a liar!" Algos shouted. "And I'll prove it! We're gonna hook you up to a lie detector right now, punk."

"Good, then you'll know in telling the truth!" Percy said, almost feeling relieved.

Officer Dolos stood up and walked out of the room, returning moments later rolling a table with a confusing looking contraption on top.

Dolos hooked Percy up to the monitors, then nodded at Algos.

"Let's start with some simple questions, to establish your natural body fluctuations," Algos stated. "I'll ask a few questions, and you just reply with a yes or no. Got it?"

Percy nodded.

"Alright then," Algos smirked. "Here we go. Is your name Percy Jackson?"

"Yes," Percy said calmly.

"Do you attend Goode High?"

"Yes," Percy nodded.

"Are you currently seventeen years old?"

"Yes."

"Were you at Andro Tasia's jewelry shop tonight?" came the next, more intense question.

"Yes," Percy confirmed, trying not to react to the obviously raised eyebrows from Algos.

"And did you take any jewelry from his shop?"

"Um, no," Percy said hesitantly.

"What was that?" Algos pounced on the opportunity.

"No," Percy said, more sure. "I didn't take anything, I just picked it up."

"So you did take jewelry?" Algos demanded.

"No," Percy said, struggling to remain calm, but breathing in sharply as he saw the meters jump on the lie detector. "I did not."

Algos huffed. "Okay then, next question..."

Question after question, the officer tried to trick Percy into admitting his guilt, but every time Percy answered honestly, denying the accusations. Finally, after what must have been at least two hours, Officer Dolos stood up.

"That's enough," he said, reaching over to unhook Percy, who by that time was feeling very tense and confused. "Let's get the results analyzed."

"Okay, then we'll come back with positive results to get your confession," Algos sneered, roughly undoing a few cords.

"I won't confess, because I don't have anything to confess to," Percy said stubbornly, his voice hoarse from all the talking he'd done.

"We'll see about that, punk," Algos scoffed, as he and Officer Dolos exited the room, leaving Percy alone.

Percy counted to one hundred, and waited until he was sure both officers were gone. Once the coast was clear, he took a deep, shaky, ragged breath, and leaned forward and put his head in his hands. It was a little chilly in the room, and Percy shivered once. His hands shook, and he longed for a cigarette to steady his nerves, but a short coughing spell reminded him that he shouldn't want to smoke.

He wished he had his phone, or at least his watch, if only to check the time. He figured it must be around midnight, and he was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep if he tried.

Percy felt empty, except for the twisted knot of uncertainty in his stomach. What would happen when they let him go? Would they call Gabe, who would likely punish him? Or what would happen if they didn't let him go, and decided he was guilty? He pushed that last thought out of his head, as it was too unpleasant to consider.

Percy sat in cold silence for a long time, until what felt like hours later, one of the cops returned. It was just his luck that it was Algos, who seemed to be the more aggressive of the two, but Percy rose to his feet anyway.

Without warning, Algos rushed forward, grabbed Percy by the front of his shirt, and pinned him to the wall.

"You failed!" Algos shouted in his face, shaking a handful of papers at him. "You lied about everything, that test proved it!"

"What?!" Percy exclaimed incredulously. "But I-"

"We know you did it, you little punk!" Algos yelled aggressively, shaking Percy. Percy suddenly flashed back to all the times Gabe had pinned him the exact same way, and his heart started pounding. "Fess up!"

"I didn't do it!" Percy shouted back. "I swear!"

"Nobody ever believes dirty rotten thieves like you!" Algos screamed in his face. "Just tell us you did it! I know you're a liar! You're a liar, and a no-good-"

"That's enough!" a loud voice said, as the door to the interrogation room opened with a bang.

Algos guiltily dropped Percy, who sank to his knees, trembling.

"Wait for me in my office, Algos," Poseidon's loud, angry voice said.

"Yes, sir," Algos said meekly, as he skirted out of the room.

"Are you alright, Percy?" Poseidon asked, going over to him and offering out a hand.

Percy ignored the offered help and pushed himself off the ground instead. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"I've been looking all over for you," Poseidon frowned. "I had no idea you were in here, I didn't even think they were going to question you. This is ridiculous."

"Tell me about it," Percy muttered, frowning.

"Well I guess I'm going to take you where you were supposed to be," Poseidon said. "Come with me. You're going to stay in Cell Two for the rest of the night, and you'll get your phone call and such."

"What time is it?" Percy asked, suddenly exhausted.

"A little after three," Poseidon answered after glancing at his watch. "Now come this way. You're going to stay here overnight, but we'll get you set up properly. And afterwards, I'm going to have a long talk with Officer Algos about proper protocol..."

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**A/N**

**Hello, lovelies! I'm back. I promise. The next update should be before the end of September, though I'll try to write quick! What'd you think of this chapter? I'm sorry, I wrote it kind of fast cuz I needed to post something... I hope it was alright! **

**Fast survey question, which you can answer in a review: Would you rather have me post short chapters( 500- 1,000 words) about once a week, or would you rather have long chapters (2,000-3,500 words) about once or twice a month? Because each of my writing sessions I tend to get at least 500 words out, and I could either post as I write or take longer and fill more space. **

**Anyway, school is starting for me, and (high school) senior year is gonna suck. College stress, moving, etc, whatever... I may or may not reply to every single one of your reviews, I'm sorry! Just know to all the guest reviewers (Guest313 and ROFL especially), I really really appreciate the time you take to write a little something. I love getting feedback, and I'm so happy when someone says I'm their favorite author!**

**And speaking of that- I can't believe how much support I've received for this:) I love you all. Thanks for supporting everything, even the church/religion parts! As a thank you, I promise I'm not going to abandon this story, I'll finish it no matter what:) And if you're still with me, I'll even write out the sequel I've planned!**

**Sorry this A/N was long. Love you all, I'll be back soon!**

**Xoxoxo,**

**EmMarie**


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